Carson Wentz (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Coming off a season where Carson Wentz came back from 2 consecutive major season ending injuries, to carry the Eagles back to the playoffs, was absent from NFL Network's Top 100 Players of 2020. Quarterbacks ahead of Wentz on the list included Dak Prescott (46th), (Josh Allen (87th) and Kyler Murray (90th).
Wentz is coming off a season where he threw for over 4,000 yards, 64 percent completion percentage, a 93.1 passer rating, along with a 27-7 touchdown to interception ratio. He finished 5th in the NFL in touchdown passes and 9th in passing yards despite playing with arguably the worst wide receiving core in the league.
One theory for this snub, is the ‘Nick Foles Effect’. ESPN’s Louis Riddick commenting, "He doesn't get any respect and hasn't gotten any respect for years now because of what happened when they won the Super Bowl. All the rumors started about the fact that Carson doesn't have leadership qualities, Nick Foles is someone who the team plays harder for, and that thing just snowballs. Then it leaked into the disrespect for how he plays on the field”.
The voting is done by the players throughout the season, it is impossible to measure how serious the players take this voting. I imagine a lot of players are just writing some of their teammates down and handing it in. Also, players do not pay as close attention around the league as the media and NFL fans do throughout the season. For example, an AFC defensive tackle would not be the best judge of players on an NFC team, they have not played against.
In conclusion, I am not too certain this list can be taken seriously at all. Patrick Mahomes finished 4th in the voting, which is highly questionable, finishing behind Lamar Jackson (1st), Russell Wilson (2nd), and Aaron Donald (3rd). Wentz finished (3rd) just two short years ago. Hopefully this snubbing works as more motivation for Wentz going into the 2020 season.
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