Chris Simms gets it.
Simms, the NFL analyst and former NFL quarterback, correctly ranks Carson Wentz ahead of Dak Prescott in his ranking of every starting QB in the league.
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro had both quarterbacks ranked a bit lower than Simms in his recent NFL quarterback rankings.
Simms, host of the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and PFT Live on Pro Football Talk, revealed quarterbacks six through 14 Monday morning, and he has Wentz at No. 6 and Prescott at No. 8, with Matt Ryan of the Falcons in between.
“[The Eagles] are not in the playoffs last year unless they have Carson Wentz at quarterback,” Simms said on the podcast. “I don’t even know where to begin. He’s one of the six quarterbacks in football where you can put the squad on his back and he can carry you no matter who’s out there, what style of game you play, what kind of offense you’re in, it doesn’t matter. It’s like the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James. Awesome arm. Explosive, game-changing arm. In the pocket, he’s as tough as there is in football. I think he’s one of the most talented quarterbacks in football. I think he’s only going upwards.”
Wentz and Prescott have both been starters since the beginning of their rookie year in 2016. Wentz is 32-24 with 97 touchdowns and 35 interceptions and a 92.7 passer rating, and Prescott is 40-24 with 97 TDs and 36 INTs and a 97.0 passer rating with a far more impressive array of weapons to throw to.
Here’s what Simms said about Prescott: “Dak Prescott brings it all to the table: leadership, toughness. I love that aspect of him and that’s where — him and Matt Stafford I had really close, but I give Dak Prescott the advantage because of some of that that he brings to the football team. There is somewhat of an edge he brings. This is one of the best deep ball throwers in football, too. I don’t think he quite gets the credit he deserves for making off-schedule plays and throws. To me, Dak Prescott has it all. He’s a franchise quarterback. He deserves to be paid in a big way.”
NFL
In seven games against the Cowboys, Wentz is 3-4 but with 12 touchdown passes and two interceptions and a 99.4 passer rating — ninth-highest ever against the Cowboys.
In eight games against the Eagles, Prescott is 5-3 with eight TDs, seven INTs and an 83.5 passer rating.
Simms hasn’t announced his top five yet, but Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers have not appeared on the list yet, so there’s your top five.
The top 10 so far includes Wentz, Prescott, Stafford, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton, who is currently unsigned.
Super Bowl winners Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Drew Brees are at No. 14, No. 15 and No. 16.
Wentz and Prescott are the only NFC East QBs in the top 20. Simms has Daniel Jones of the Giants at No. 22 going into his second year and Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins at No. 39 of 40 going into his second year.
Simms has Nick Foles of the Bears, the 2017 Super Bowl MVP, at No. 31, ahead of only nine quarterbacks.
“[Wentz vs.] Nick Foles? They're not in the same stratosphere,” Simms said.
Simms spoke at length about Wentz and many other Eagles-centric topics on the Eagle Eye podcast after the draft.
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