Indians’ Michael Brantley to begin rehab stint Tuesday
April 12, 2016Stop it: new Indian Mike Napoli is not former Indian Mark Reynolds
April 12, 2016If the question relies on the future of the quarterback position in Cleveland, North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz believes he is the answer. A long-standing tradition in Cleveland has been the revolving door of names to be the next savior. Whether it was the hometown kid in Brian Hoyer, the flashy Heisman winner in Johnny Manziel, or the latest addition in Robert Griffin III, the narrative remains—who will save Cleveland? And by save, the expectations are so low that mere relevancy would do the trick.
And while Wentz may not go so far as to think he can turn around decades of misfortune by himself, he believes he has what it takes to be the No. 2 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. In a incredibly reported and well-told story penned by ESPN The Magazine’s Kevin Van Valkenburg, Wentz not only has a binder full of Cleveland Browns plays at the ready, but already has every formation memorized as he meticulously studies and diagrams them out in preparation for the end of April’s annual selection weekend.
The 23-year-old quarterback is sitting in a corner booth in the back of the Granite City Food and Brewery in Fargo, North Dakota, fiddling with his wispy copper beard. It’s both a tic and an obvious tell, a good indicator he’s grown tired of sitting still. He’s thinking about the future, and the uncertainty is maddening. He’s a planner, an obsessive scheduler, and each hour he’s awake, he is restless, as if his body and brain are idling in neutral.
“I want to head back to the dome,” he tells Ryan Lindley, his friend and quarterbacking mentor, as the check arrives. “Just for like an hour. We can do a longer session in the morning, but I feel like I want to get more time in before I go to bed.”
As they prepare to leave, an older couple stop at the table and gush about what a pleasure it was to watch Wentz play at North Dakota State. This happens often in Fargo, proud and provincial gushing. In the rest of the country, Wentz can go unrecognized, just another tall white guy in a Patagonia pullover. But here in North Dakota, he might as well be royalty. “It’s hard to be a normal person,” Wentz says. “I just keep telling myself, don’t make it bigger than it is. I wear hats so at least I can try to blend in.”
The encounter, like almost all of them, ends on the same awkward note: Carson, we sure hope you don’t end up in Cleveland! Anywhere but Cleveland! He smiles and offers a polite but forced chuckle. “It’s out of my control,” he says, shrugging. He’s become an expert in the art of noncommittal, inoffensive shrugs. He shakes a few more hands, gets up and walks to the parking lot.
In his truck, Wentz has a thin binder full of plays from — who else? — the Browns. Cleveland has both the second pick in the 2016 draft and arguably the most miserable quarterback succession in the NFL over the past decade. And despite picking up Robert Griffin III in March, all signs show that the Browns are still on the hunt for another one.
Wentz knows the team is testing him, trying to both rattle and educate. The Browns can’t afford another failure. He has memorized every formation, but he’s still headed to the Fargodome hungry to diagram plays. (Wentz long ago acquired a key to the stadium to ensure late-night access.) Lindley, a journeyman since being drafted in 2012, will quiz Wentz on the Browns’ verbiage, demanding to know where each read should be against different defenses. They’ll even do a mock news conference. Some coaches, he warns, like to soak footballs with water and ask you to throw them after your workout, just to see how flustered you’ll get. The session won’t end until well after midnight.
According to the story, the Browns have shown more interest in Wentz than any other team in the league. This could be why it’s the NDSU product who is continually linked to the Browns in mock drafts. The team sent an army of individuals to his Pro Day in Fargo, with Hue Jackson being the only head coach in attendance and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton put Wentz through additional drills.
From a character standpoint, the reporting done thoughtout the story sheds a lot of light on a guy who has, to this point, been spoken of almost entirely in measurable—height, weight, 40 time, arm strength among them. Perhaps the most intriguing note comes after Wentz broke his wrist midway through last season.
When Wentz broke his wrist midway through last season, several agents courting him suggested he withdraw from school the way UCLA linebacker Myles Jack did after a season-ending knee injury. Wentz asked Ryan Tollner, the agent he eventually signed with, what he thought. Tollner was blunt: It sounded like a horrible idea. As a quarterback, NFL teams are looking at you, trying to measure what kind of leader you are. What kind of leader bails on his team?
“Exactly,” Wentz told Tollner. “I just wanted to see what you’d say. I would never leave my team.”
Twelve weeks after he had a pin surgically inserted, his wrist was healed and one game remained. In the FCS national championship against Jacksonville State, Wentz ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, helping the Bison win their fifth consecutive title. “Carson is the face of North Dakota right now,” says Bison coach Chris Klieman. “I think he could run for governor.”
Plenty was made of Wentz’ Pro Day when Hamilton doused a football in water before the quarterback threw it downfield. The uninitiated saw the first throw—the one that hit the ground in front of the receiver, the only one that was shared widely on social media—and extrapolated that singular moment as if it were indicative of something larger. What they did not see were the several passes after that were not just completed but done so in awe-inspiring fashion, drawing applause from those in attendance.
Of course, there’s also the Johnny Manziel factor. As the Browns look to distance themselves from a mistake they made two seasons ago, Wentz looks more an more like the antithesis of the Heisman winner from Texas A&M. He despises designer clothes. He didn’t blare music in the background of his workouts. His idea of a night out involves billiards. He’s been with his high school sweetheart, Melissa, since high school. And he loads game film on to his mobile devices so he can study and critique during his free (and even not-so-free) moments. According to Van Valkenburg, who discussed this story on a recent podcast for The Mag, the 6-foot-5-inch Wentz already knows more Browns plays than former quarterback Manziel who had two-plus years to learn them.
The Browns may not select Wentz with the second overall pick later this month. Sure, they need a quarterback, but there are a host of options available including Califorina’s Jared Godff, Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey, and the potential for a trade-down scenario. Regardless of what happens, Wentz will be a first-day pick, taking his size and IQ to one of the 32 teams in the league, many of which could use a player with his skill set at the position he plays.
With that all in mind, there’s no denying the kid is preparing for a future in Cleveland. Fans and Wentz alike will soon find out if the interest is indeed mutual.
35 Comments
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But does he know this formation?
The only formation he’s going to need to learn is the ‘ol Chuck And Duck formation.
On occasion maybe audible to the Run For Your Life formation.
After he’s mastered those, Hue can add the Terrified Fetal Position formation to the playbook.
1 season of HS quarterbacking
1 season of college quarterbacking
I am one who does believe the nuance of the position requires repetitions. Goff throws WRs open. Wentz can throw to an open WR.
Love his attitude and love his reported work ethic. But, still favor the better quarterback.
“Carson Wentz is preparing to be drafted by the Cleveland Browns”, takes out large insurance policy.
I agree 100%. I’d say about half the QB’s to walk through Berea have had the same work ethic. It doesn’t always translate into wins. Wentz may have the potential to be a great QB, but he hasn’t shown me anything to make me think he is better than Goff. Inexperienced, and the best opponent he ever faced was Iowa State 2 seasons ago. Which turned out to be a 2-win team.
I’m actually starting to lean away from a QB at #2.
I assume we’ll be having a defacto Browns Draft thread at some point in the near future…
I still prefer Goff as well. Lots to like about Wentz, but I just think the most important thing is the ability to read a defense and then put the ball where you want to at the right time. People still get caught up in QB measurables, and while it’s nice to be big and fast, a ton of big, athletic QB’s with canons attached to their clavicles have busted. That’s clearly not the most important factor.
It’s tempting to take other positions so we can feel like we covered more bases, but part of me thinks they should take a triple-redundant approach to the QB position and just make sure they have it covered one way or another. It’s the hardest position to find and the most important one on the field.
Thanks for the sanity. The line about Goff throwing WRs open and Wentz throwing to an open guy is 100% accurate. The reason Wentz didn’t go through progressions often or have to at least is because his WRs got open against the Joe McNobody DBs he faced against 99.9% of the time. Wentz has good physical attributes, but extremely limited experience and at a much lower level of competition.
Joe’s next one is coming, but feel free to utilize this one here for now.
I’ll best some of those FCS clubs were better than the Cyclones, but yeah.
(also, continually seeing NDSU being described as “pro-style” and Cal described as “spread” makes my stomach churn. Goff was asked to do more NFL throws than Wentz from what I have seen regardless of the system they ran.)
Well, I’m assuming Tunsil will not be available.
The more I read and see, I’m leaning toward Myles Jack.
Hires a therapist
Honestly not trying to just point out a typo, but this reeks of a Bode-ism:
“there are a host of options available including Califorina’s Jared Godff”
Gets his affairs in order.
Haha…Hey, even I won’t go that far. Heck, I still won’t even give him Andrew Luck status. He’s just the best QB this year (and in the past few) IMO.
Jack is tempting as is Ramsey. Still, I believe Goff is good enough to not pass up.
Has Last Rites.
“…Wentz not only has a binder full of Cleveland Browns plays at the ready, but already has every formation memorized as he meticulously studies and diagrams them out in preparation for the end of April’s annual selection weekend”
For a moment I thought we may have found the anti-Manziel to save us. That is… until I read the very next sentence.
“The 23-year-old quarterback is sitting in a corner booth in the back of the Granite City Food and Brewery…”
RRUUUNNN!!!!
Carson Wentz “Not afraid of being drafted by the Cleveland Browns.” (probably as all QBs have said similar)
Jerry Seinfeld “Exactly. That’s your problem. You should be.”
LMAO !!
good post BP … but roethlisberger , flacco & others played against lesser competition as well.
If they want Wentz, there is NO reason to take him at #2. Trade down if he’s your guy, which I hope he is NOT!
I could go on and on about this, but there is a difference and I’ll try to be succinct. Although Big Ben played at Miami (OH), that is still an FBS school. Also he threw 1304 attempts as a starter by his junior year to Wentz’s 566 attempts by his senior year. Flacco is the closest comp, but in only 3 more games started, 26 flacco – 23 Wentz, Flacco posted 938 total passing attempts, almost 400 more. Flacco also began at Pitt and transferred to Delaware.
The kicker on these is that both Miami and Delaware were relevant and got a whole lot better with those QBs. NDSU would be undefeated with Johnny Manziel at QB while he is sitting in his apartment with Von ‘Gordon’ Miller.
if it’s QB i want Goff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a16Kgh7j8zk
One of your finest quotes. I hope the national media pick up on this.
Goff throws WRs open. Wentz can throw to an open WR.
hat-tip to John Madden (he was talking about Steve Young compared to I think it was Erik Kramer, but might have been Scott Mitchell — it was a Thanksgiving game for sure).
I could see Dallas taking Wentz. Ideal situation for him and give Dallas a guy who needs time but has the physical attributes (and is quite similar to Tony Romo in many ways).
https://twitter.com/alexmarvez/status/720033849833570304
Interesting perspective from Bortles
… and the flip-side of that is quinn , mccoy , manziel , leaf , j.russell & many others played at top-notch programs & played against top-notch competition … we all know QB is a crap-shoot.
we need to get it right … for once.
Ryan Leaf was over-hyped for his athleticism and upside(hmm). McCoy, Johnny and Quinn were not high picks. Also all draft picks are a crap-shoot. You need to include the competition level and volume of experience in your evaluation of the quality of film and apparent skill-set.
Whenever drafted guys have regrets, I wonder why their agents etc. aren’t being exposed or held accountable.
If everyone’s only goal was to maximize how high he was taken, say that too.
Thought Cleveland was the Midwest version of Fargo.