Bill Parcells is famous for once saying that “if they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.”
Carson Wentz is not the Eagles general manager or chief decision-maker, but it’s clear that Philadelphia’s $128 million franchise quarterback developed an ever-growing influence inside the organization.
The Eagles have moved on from some of the louder voices in the locker room and it’s no coincidence that Wentz’s play took off after the Eagles inserted Greg Ward, Boston Scott and other younger players into the equation because of injury.
In his latest piece for The Inquirer, Jeff McLane takes a deep dive into Wentz’s growing influence inside of the Eagles organization.
Howie Roseman has previously noted Wentz’s involvement in personnel, but the general manager has also emphasized that his opinions were just a small part of the process. The Eagles, after all, have countless executives, scouts, and coaches and millions of dollars invested in the evaluation of draft prospects and free agents.
But Wentz’s voice has carried significant weight with some in the front office, according to organizational sources, both current and past ones with the Eagles.
During his recent conference call, Eagles GM Howie Roseman gave some insight into the Wentz’s involvement with the draft process and the communication that influences some of the Eagles moves.
“For us, we want to communicate with all our players. Obviously, Carson is a huge part of it,” Roseman said Thursday during a teleconference when asked about Wentz’s input in next week’s draft. He added: “In the past, he has had the opportunity to work out with some guys, but obviously with social distancing and everything going on, it’s not the same way.
“Any time we can get valuable information from any of our players about guys they know, guys they’re a part of, it’s important for us to listen to that because a lot of it, it’s dating before you marry.”
Wentz reportedly had some say in the Eagles drafting Dallas Goedert and Mack Hollins previously, but that could simply be based on those players sharing the same agent.
The Eagles made Wentz one of the NFL’s highest-paid signal-callers two years earlier than they needed to, highlighting the importance and value they place in the quarterback.
The Eagles are set to focus heavily on the wide receivers during the 2020 NFL Draft and Wentz will no doubt have some say on who Howie Roseman chooses to target based on that communication.
