Philadelphia Eagles coach Doug Pederson is very high on his new quarterback.
The Eagles selected North Dakota State signal-caller Carson Wentz with the second pick in the 2016 NFL Draft on Thursday night after the Los Angeles Rams chose California QB Jared Goff with the top overall selection. Pederson, who played quarterback in the NFL from 1993 through 2004, played alongside some solid signal-callers in his heyday, and he made an interesting comparison when asked who Wentz reminded him of.
“A little bit of Brett Favre, honestly,” Pederson said, according to PhillyVoice.com. “He’s got that mentality. He’s got that aggressiveness that Brett had. Those are some of the skill sets that I see in Carson — that aggression, that ability to throw the ball down the field.
“I love quarterbacks that are willing to take a chance, take a calculated risk down the field. Favre was that way. I see a lot of the same characteristics in Carson.”
Favre, who highlights this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class, had an excellent career in which he earned 11 Pro Bowl selections, won three NFL MVP awards and guided the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl XXXI victory over the New England Patriots. He holds several NFL records and was the league’s all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns when he retired after the 2010 season.
Now, Pederson didn’t exactly say Wentz will evolve into the next Favre, whom the Eagles coach played with for seven seasons in Green Bay. But there are some similarities from a stylistic standpoint. And Wentz sounds flattered by the comparison.
“Growing up, Favre was always my favorite guy to watch,” Wentz said, according to PhillyVoice.com, when told of Pederson’s comparison. “His mentality, the way he played the game, his approach, he had fun with it. His grittiness, hard-working attitude, I just loved everything about watching him play. Being compared to him, obviously I have a long way to go, but it’s pretty cool hearing that.”
No pressure or anything, Carson.
Thumbnail photo via Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports Images
