We’ve long suspected that the initial read on draft-eligible quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Jared Goff would be based on old stereotypes of where they went to school.
And sure enough, the early word at the Scouting Combine was that the kind who went to FCS-level North Dakota State was impressive, but that the one from Cal might be closer to playing immediately.
But Jon Gruden doesn’t necessarily agree.
Via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Gruden doled out his normal high praise, but suggested an immediacy about Wentz that others may not have.
“I think he’s the most NFL-ready quarterback that we’ve had in the last couple of years,’' Gruden said during his quarterback camp series, which will air in April.
While such laurels are the kind Gruden hands out to everybody, it’s interesting to hear the conversation about Wentz turn from his long-term potential to what he can do from day one.
And depending on who ends up drafting him, that could be an important distinction indeed.