Written by Peter King at MMQB.com
Something’s happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear. But this Wentzmania (we’ll get to his details shortly) leads the way for a slew of kid quarterbacks that has defined the first month of the season. Six of them. None named Jared Goff.
How ridiculously well the young quarterbacks have done:
| Age | QB, Team | Overall Pick (Year) | W-L | TD-Int |
| 23 | Carson Wentz, PHI | 2 (2016) | 3-0 | 5-0 |
| 24 | Trevor Siemian, DEN | 250 (2015) | 3-0 | 5-3 |
| 23 | Dak Prescott, DAL | 135 (2016) | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 24 | Jimmy Garoppolo, NE | 62 (2014) | 2-0 | 4-0 |
| 22 | Jacoby Brissett, NE | 91 (2016) | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 23 | Cody Kessler, CLE | 93 (2016) | 0-1 | 0-0 |
Young Turk W-L record: 11-2. Young Turk TD-INT ratio: 15-3.
Is that really different? I’d say so. Last year, there were two young guns playing early, and Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston were a combined 2-4 after three weeks. This year, as we prepare to exit September, the four kids who’ve played enough to qualify for the league leaders—Garoppolo, Wentz, Siemian and Prescott—are 2, 7, 11 and 12, respectively, in the league in passer rating.
My theory on why we’re seeing such competent-to-outstanding play by these millennials was explained in three words by Wentz outside the Eagles’ fairly excited locker room Sunday evening. They’re the same three words he spoke to me at the combine last February when Wentz was on trial for his future, trying to make the jump from North Dakota State to the NFL.
“It’s just football,” he told me.
Wentz doesn’t make it too big. I mentioned in this column after Week 1 that there were some preternaturally young kids playing well at quarterback, and now it’s not just a novelty act. Siemian, Prescott and Garoppolo have the same ethos as Wentz. (I’m not too familiar with Kessler or Brissett, who are playing solely due to injury.) Siemian strafed the Bengals on the road on Sunday, Prescott looked like a six-year vet on Sunday night in beating Chicago, and Wentz—well, let Eagles coach Doug Pederson do the gee whiz part of this. “Who’d have thought a kid from North Dakota would be such a mature individual and would make the adjustment to the pro game as quickly as he has?” Pederson said.
To continue reading this article, click here.
