Look At Me Now: The Development of Wentz and Cox

Apr 3, 2020

We are less than a month away from the NFL Draft. At that time there will be 254 prospects chosen for the opportunity of a lifetime.

Just makes you reminisce, doesn’t it?

Well, happy thoughts only because we all understand the perception surrounding Howie Roseman and the draft. Just think the optimism behind the Miles Sanders selection or how excited the prospect of a “Goedertz” 12 personnel made us. Yet before becoming your favorite Philadelphia Eagle, each and every member of this team had to go through their own draft process.

This is why the Eagles Nation team allowed you, the fans to decide which current Eagles player you wanted to see exactly how their Saturday stardom translated to Sunday success.

Using the player draft profile at NFL.com, along with some other draft content from the selected players’ draft season, we breakdown the player’s development up until this point.

Photo: Jeff Skversky/6 ABC

Player Profile

Name: Carson Wentz
Position: Quarterback
College: North Dakota State
Class: Senior

Draft Profile

Scouting Report

With a body type that is as prototypical as they come and a background in reading the entire field and working through progressions, Wentz will immediately check a couple of boxes that many college quarterbacks won’t be able to check. While his arm strength is OK, he can still make all the throws and he can make them with accuracy. His ability to escape pressure and pick up first downs with his feet will be yet another checkmark in his favor.

Wentz is still in a developmental phase after just two years at an FCS program but has the mental and physical building blocks of a future, franchise quarterback – NFL.com

Strengths

Played in an offense that’s more complex than many imagine—Wentz played in shotgun, pistol and under center, had to execute multiple play-action and read-option concepts and made pro-style reads
Has a plus-plus arm with the ability to make every throw with minimal effort. Uses his lower body well to create torque and releases the ball from a consistent slot.
Isn’t afraid to throw into small windows. Touch is an underrated part of his game—Wentz can take heat off the pass and complete timing throws even when he’s not optimally set mechanically.
From the pocket, he has the best consistent accuracy in this draft class when throwing intermediate and deep passes. – Sports Illustrated

Weaknesses

Strength of competition is a legitimate concern for Wentz. He didn’t face a ton of complex defenses, nor did he have to deal with defenses loaded with top NFL prospects.
Isn’t a consistent thrower on the move because he doesn’t always turn his shoulders to the target, and may lose accuracy and velocity.
Tends to lock onto his eventual targets for too long, which will lead to converging coverages at the NFL level.
Needs to be more sudden and accurate on deep throws at times. – Sports Illustrated

Development

“With the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select Carson Wentz, Quarterback. North Dakota State.”

To say the selection was a breath of fresh air for the Eagles is an understatement. Even the miraculous comeback over Michael Vick couldn’t overshadow the team’s desperate need for a franchise quarterback at the time. Despite starting the season 3-0 including massive 37-3 upset over the Steelers in Pittsburgh, Wentz soon began to slow down. Naturally, as most rookie quarterbacks tend to come with some inconsistencies. However, even behind the smoke and mirrors of a 7-9 season, anyone associated with the Philadelphia Eagles organization knew from Wentz’s first career touchdown pass to Jordan Mathews, that they had something special.

Many of Wentz’s strengths from NDSU followed him to the league. The quick-release, the accuracy in the intermediate passing game, and the poise to stand in the pocket and deliver an on-target pass while taking a hit. Most importantly Wentz showed an ability to understand the concepts of a West Coast offense. Enough understanding that coach Doug Pederson had faith in him to be the week one starter. FCS, SEC, NFL, it didn’t matter to Wentz, as he quickly showed that despite background, he was more than ready for the difference in the level of competition. Just like at NDSU, Wentz was allowed the opportunity to kill plays at the LOS in order to get the team in the right spot.

In year two is where you could finally see Wentz starting to put things in place. After throwing 16 touchdown passes his entire rookie season, Wentz had 17 of them through five games in 2017. While many of the traits Wentz failed to conquer following his rookie and college campaigns respectively, were laid to rest. You could see an invested improvement of the deep ball accuracy and Wentz became a much better passer outside of the pocket to the point it became a staple of his play. The leader in touchdown passes, the quarterback of the best team in the NFC, and the MVP front runner. Wentz had it all figured out until an old college weakness came back to haunt him, the injury bug.

As a senior at NDSU, Wentz missed most of the season with a broken wrist, while Wentz has only played an entire 16 game season twice since joining the league in 2016. Despite that when on the field Wentz has shown he has the abilities to one of the best quarterbacks in the league. There are times where Wentz can still lock on to targets allowing defenses to key in and the accuracy tends to be spotty from time to time. Still moving up in the draft to select Wentz has proven to be the right move for Philadelphia. Look no further than the way Wentz was able to elevate his team to the playoffs this past season despite being down multiple starters at key positions. Wentz has all the makings of a franchise quarterback and as long as he stays healthy Philadelphia is in good hands.

Photo: Saturday’s Down South

Player Profile

Name: Fletcher Cox
Position: Interior Defensive Line
College: Mississippi State
Class: Junior

Draft Profile

Scouting Report

Cox is an improving player that has a big upside. He is just scratching the surface of what his athletic ability allows him to do. Cox’s pass-rushing ability sets him apart from other defensive tackle prospects. It is hard to find tackles who have his capacity to pressure the quarterback; a dangerous interior pass-rusher is a huge advantage in the pass-driven NFL. Unlike some highly touted tackles in this draft class, Cox has a steady motor and is consistent. Cox projects as a 4-3 defensive tackle who could play the three-technique. His length and versatile skill set allow him to be a potential five-technique defensive end in a 3-4 system. Cox should go in the top half of the first round on Draft Day. – Walter Football

Strengths

Regarded as a high motor player. Knows when to ratchet his burst down to fake out linemen.
Is naturally strong enough to hold his spot one-on-one and get penetration.
Versatile enough to play just about anywhere along the line and generate a blitz. He gets off the line with ease and knows how to slip between multiple blockers.
Has a nice burst off the line and closes better than most defensive tackles. – NFL.com

Weaknesses

Doesn’t hold up particularly well against double teams. Will need to be paired with a nose tackle on the inside.
Although Cox flashes good natural power, he’ll need to add more strength to hold up against the NFL run game.
Doesn’t maintain leverage consistently because he gets high in his stance.
Could hold up at the end, but he’s not as a speed-rushing, corner-turning end. Production didn’t match his ability. Four of his 4.5 sacks in 2011 came in two games. Adding secondary moves to his arsenal will greatly help his pass rush. – NFL.com

Development

“Seattle has traded the 12th pick to Philadelphia. With the 12th pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select Fletcher Cox. Defensive tackle. Mississippi State.”

Some things just never change. When Cox was drafted by the Andy Reid regime he was drafted to be the anchor in the middle for Jim Washburn’s wide nine, right next to the great Trent Cole. Fast forward to the modern-day Philadelphia Eagles and what do you see? Fletcher Cox anchoring the middle of Jim Schwartz wide nine sets. Truly a jack of all treys along the defensive line is Fletcher Cox. At Mississippi State, Cox was prominently played as the five-technique (3-4 defensive end) but generally during his time in Philadelphia he was used as the three-technique (4-3 defensive tackle). Though we must note that Cox saw continued success back in the role as the five-technique under the Chip Kelly regime.

Cox terrorized quarterbacks to start his career with 22 sacks through his first four years. Cox put himself on the map with his 9.5 sack season in 2015, which included a game against the Saints in which he had three sacks and two forced fumbles. It didn’t take long for Cox to establish himself amongst the best interior defensive linemen in the game to the point the Eagles gave him a six-year, $103 million extensions prior to the 2016 season. The extension came with 63 million in guarantees, which were the highest guarantees for a non-quarterback in NFL history. Despite already playing at a high level, Cox was able to take it up another notch during the 2018 season. He was able to set career highs in sacks (10.5), tackles for loss (12), and quarterback hits (34.) En route to the career season, Cox earned his fourth straight trip to the Pro Bowl, along with his first career selection as a part of the NFL’s First-Team All-Pro.

Cox became a much better hand fighter than he was at Mississippi State. His swipe seems to be the go-to move but he has no problem overpowering you if he has to. Cox does a phenomenal job of using one move to set up the next. While it was never a good idea to leave Cox blocked one on one and that certainly hasn’t changed up to this point. Cox has a quick first step that puts interior offensive linemen in a bad position in terms of recovery. This allows Cox to be patient in determining his next move, usually, the leverage of the offensive lineman plays a significant role in deciding how Cox goes about his pass rush.

Despite closing in on 30 years old, Cox still has a rare blend of size and speed that isn’t usually seen in defensive tackles. Cox still has some good years left in his prime and the Eagles are in a position to take advantage of it with the addition of Javon Hargrave. This gives Cox a young legitimate running mate to cause havoc with for the foreseeable future.

Featured Image: Glenn Erby/The Eagles Wire

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