Carson Wentz will have his Pro Day today in Fargo, North Dakota.
Wentz was a two-time winner of the Most Outstanding Player in the FCS Championship Game, winning it in each of the last two seasons. He’s the first North Dakota native to quarterback the Bison to a National Championship. And he has a chance to be drafted higher than any non-FBS quarterback, despite missing much of last season due to injury.
Since the 1979 NFL draft -- the first after the implementation of Division I-A (FBS) -- no non-FBS quarterback has been selected in the top two picks.
The non-FBS quarterback who was previously picked highest was Steve McNair, who went No. 3 overall to the Houston Oilers in the 1995 NFL Draft out of Alcorn State. Wentz could become the fifth quarterback from a non-FBS school selected in the first round since 1979. Three of the others -- McNair, Joe Flacco and Phil Simms -- each went on to start a Super Bowl at some point in their NFL careers.
In the last two seasons, when he was North Dakota State’s primary starting quarterback, Wentz played 15 of his 23 games indoors. That included 13 home games and two road games in 2014 against Northern Iowa and South Dakota State.
A team like the Browns, who own the second pick in the NFL draft and are in the market for a franchise quarterback, has played 47 games since the start of the 2001 season in which the game-time temperature was below 40 degrees.
Draft comparables
Based on past combine performance and measurables, here are the quarterbacks who were graded between 85 and 100 by Scouts Inc. and were similar to Wentz.
Wentz has a high similarity score with Gabbert on the physical front. He measured just under an inch taller (6-foot-5 ¼) and three pounds heavier (237). They had nearly the same arm length (Wentz's were ¼ inch longer), the same hand length (10 inches) and the same wingspan (78 ¾ inches).
But Wentz wouldn’t necessarily want to be compared to Gabbert, who's 8-27 as a starter in his NFL career and has the lowest QBR of any passer with at least 1,000 action plays since he entered the NFL in 2011 (27.4).
Wentz is a quarter-inch taller and five pounds heavier than Bortles, and had both a slightly bigger hand and a longer wingspan. But there are reasons Wentz wouldn't want to be compared to Bortles either. Bortles has been sacked a league-high 106 times since entering the league in 2014.
The guy Wentz would want to be compared to is Flacco, and there are some similarities between the two. Their height, weight, arm length and hand size are almost identical.
Flacco is the most recent non-FBS quarterback to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. He also has what every NFL quarterback strives for -- a Super Bowl ring.
Wentz vs. Goff
Wentz has more experience under center than the other quarterback who most project will go in the first round -- Jared Goff.
How do they compare in various areas?
Facing the blitz
Wentz completed 58 percent of his passes against the blitz this season. Goff completed 60 percent and had a higher touchdown-to-interception ratio (5.0 vs. 3.5). Wentz would have ranked 31st out of 65 qualifying quarterbacks in completion percentage against the blitz and 27th in yards per attempt had he been with a Power 5 school
In terms of extending broken plays, Wentz and Goff had almost identical completion percentages outside the pocket (56 percent vs. 55 percent). Wentz would’ve ranked 13th in completion percentage outside the pocket had he been with a Power 5 school.
Goff does have advantages in a couple of areas. His completion percentage on throws 20 to 29 yards downfield was 43 percent while Wentz’s was 28 percent. Goff completed 47 percent of his throws of at least 30 yards; Wentz completed 25 percent.
Goff also completed 62 percent of throws on 3rd-and-5 or longer. Wentz completed 52 percent, but did have a slightly higher first-down conversion rate -- 46 percent compared to 44 percent.