The annual Senior Bowl festivities begin Tuesday in Mobile, Ala., but North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz is already the star of the show.
Phil Savage, the former Browns general manager who’s now the executive director of the Senior Bowl, told reporters Monday that Wentz could end up going in the top 10 of the 2016 NFL Draft.
“With Carson Wentz, most of the scouts I talked to during the year probably thought he was worthy of second-round consideration,” Savage said. “But a second-round grade in September is a high grade for a small school. As the fall progressed, then it became, ‘Well, no, he’s more of a first-rounder.’ And within the last two weeks, I had two phone calls from (NFL personnel) friends of mine saying that Wentz isn’t just a first-rounder, he’s going in the top 10.
“So, there’s a real buzz about him.”
The Senior Bowl is the most prestigious of the postseason all-star games. Practices begin Tuesday, and almost every NFL coach, scout and personnel exec will be in attendance. Wentz and his fellow Senior Bowlers will also meet with representatives of interested teams this week in Mobile.
Wentz will play for the North team this week and be coached by the Cowboys coaching staff. The Cowboys have the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, and though it’s very early in the process, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah had Wentz going No. 4 to the Cowboys in his first mock draft after the early entries were finalized.
Josh Norris of RotoWorld wrote that he has seen “more than enough to rank [Wentz] as the top quarterback” at the Senior Bowl.
North Dakota State listed Wentz at 6-foot-6, 235. He’ll be officially weighed and measured in front of NFL scouts and coaches at the Senior Bowl Tuesday morning.
Wentz captained two FCS national championship teams and had a 64 percent completion percentage in his college career. He missed eight games last fall due to a broken wrist but returned for the national title game.