NY Jets: Carson Wentz makes sense at No. 20

The NY Jets are in need of a franchise quarterback. North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz has generated a lot of buzz leading up to the 2016 NFL Draft. The FCS product would make sense for Gang Green.

The Jets could draft their franchise quarterback in 2016. His name: Carson Wentz.

Wentz is the under-the-radar signal caller from North Dakota State that has made headlines throughout his collegiate career as he enters the mix of being one of, if not, the highest quarterbacks taken in this year’s draft.

Once projected to be a second-to-third round selection, Wentz’ arm and his mechanics have helped his stock increase dramatically as draft experts like Mike Mayock believe Wentz could be the first quarterback taken on draft day.

Assuming the Jets re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick, who posted his best single-season totals this past season en route to breaking the Jets’ single-season passing touchdown mark with 31, it still leaves the question of how long the team can rest its future on a 33-year-old late bloomer.

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It makes drafting Wentz a bit of a reach if Fitz returns, but could bring Gang Green its first franchise quarterback since Chad Pennington.

Fitzpatrick and Pennington are similar in the fact that they excel with the short-to-intermediate passes, but struggle with the deep balls. Imagine if the Jets have a quarterback that could make all the throws? The results would be immediate and consistent.

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At 6-foot-5, 233 pounds, Wentz is drawing comparison’s to Peyton Manning in terms of his play-fake and NFL.com compares him to Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles. The Jets would essentially have a quarterback with great size, arm and play-making ability in combination with more experienced and, arguably, more talent than Bortles has in Jacksonville.

Wentz threw for 3,111 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his only full season with the Bison in 2014. In his senior season, Wentz had thrown for 1,454 yards with 16 touchdowns compared to two interceptions before suffering a broken wrist, which kept him out until the National Championship game against Jacksonville State.

Despite missing eight-straight games, Wentz returned to lead North Dakota State to a 37-10 win on 16-for-29 passing for 197 yards, including a touchdown and two interceptions. On the ground, Wentz added two rushing scores and racked up 79 yards on nine rushes.

He could be a solid pick at No. 20 and could learn a lot from a veteran with the intelligence of Fitzpatrick.

The tough pill to swallow in this scenario is the fact that the Jets need help at the outside linebacker spot and on the offensive line substantially more than at the quarterback position. According to most mock drafts, if the Jets go to a skill position in the first round it’s likely to be to get a running back like Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott.

The fact of the matter is that the last eight quarterbacks the Jets have taken in the draft haven’t materialized into franchise quarterbacks. That’s not to say Brooks Bollinger was suppose to be the next Joe Namath, but Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith delivered no consistency. Although, Sanchez did manage to get the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship games in his first two seasons. With Fitzpatrick getting older, the Jets will have to draft a quarterback in the near future if they elect not to draft one in 2016.

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Why not Wentz?

With the receiving combination of Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall around for the next two years, Wentz could eliminate the quarterback enigma that surrounds the Jets.