The Philadelphia Eagles traded a fortune in draft picks to move up from No. 8 to No. 2 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. They did so to grab a player most football fans had never heard of until recently: North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. The Eagles did this despite signing two quarterbacks, incumbent starter Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel to multi-million dollar contracts. So is there any chance Wentz could actually beat out Bradford? That would certainly affect Philly’s NFL betting odds and the Eagles currently have a 2016 wins total of 7.5.
A Look at Who Has the Best NFL Odds To Be Starting QB for the Eagles
When the Eagles made that trade, Bradford took offense to it even though he has accomplished very little in his injury-plagued NFL career since being the No. 1 overall pick in 2010. Plus Bradford is guaranteed $22 million whether he plays a down or bags groceries. But he still wanted a trade to Denver. That didn’t happen at the draft, with the Broncos taking Memphis QB Paxton Lynch in the first round, so Bradford had no recourse but to rescind his trade demand and report to the Eagles.
Philly GM Howie Roseman keeps telling anyone who will listen that Bradford is his starter, and he did play well at times last season under former coach Chip Kelly. Wentz is a great athlete with plenty of upside, but he also missed most of last season due to injury and played at the FCS level with North Dakota State. There’s no way he is ready for the NFL level. Right?
New coach Doug Pederson also is trying to make this a non-story.
“I’ve actually talked to Sam since he’s been back,” Pederson said this week. “I told him my feelings haven’t changed. He’s my guy. He’s the number one guy. I just want him to embrace that and let’s not look backward but look forward.”
Bradford understands that will remain the case as long as he wins games this season, but he’s “not completely naive” to the fact that it will be Wentz’s team at some point in the future. The Eagles held OTAs this week and Bradford was easily better than Daniel and Wentz. Wentz threw a pass for wide receiver Jonathan Krause toward the right side of the field in Day 1. Cornerback Denzel Rice was running with Krause and easily intercepted Wentz’s throw. Welcome to the NFL rookie!
Bradford took reps with the first team, Daniel with the second and Wentz with the third – no surprise there. Pederson said after practice that the starting job remained Bradford’s and that Wentz has a long way to go.
It would be surprising if Wentz played a down this season unless it’s late in the season and the Eagles are eliminated from the playoffs. After all, the Eagles gave Daniel a 3-year, $21 million deal that features $12 million guaranteed. Pederson loves Daniel as both were with Kansas City the past few years. It could be argued that Daniel has just as much reason as Bradford to be upset after the Eagles traded up for Wentz. His spot in the pecking order is also in jeopardy, and likely sooner with the rookie on his heels. Backup quarterbacks have little leverage to request trades, however.
Expert Betting Prediction
Those Eagles season betting lines won’t be affected by all this. Bradford will start Week 1 without question and Daniel will be his backup.
