Carson Wentz overrated and Fletcher Cox underrated according to an anonymous scout

“Anonymous scout.” Reporters generally love them for the quotes they give, fans usually can’t stand them for the quotes they give. And for good reason. The Anonymous Scout label lets someone at some level in a scouting department rant about those two times he was right about a player and his boss wasn’t, or to crap on some guy he’s never liked and is bitter about getting wrong. There’s no accountability, they can say whatever they want and it will get written. Sports Illustrated talked to one recently, and he had some strong opinions on the Eagles.

Underrated: Fletcher Cox

Some people questioned his massive six-year, $103 million pay day, but if you listen to football people, they know he’s worth it. The key is that he plays with relentless tenacity and he is a really quality interior pass rusher.

This is absurd. Fletcher Cox is a two time 2nd team All-Pro and a 2015 Pro Bowler. In the past two years he’s not only been the best player on a good Eagles defense (that itself is underrated), he’s been the best player on the entire Eagles team during those years, one of which was a 10 win season. He isn’t Jurrell Casey, wasting away on 2 and 3 win teams.

“If you listen to football people” is rich. As if you need to be a #TapeGrinder or #FootballGuy to understand how great Cox is. And who was questioning his contract? The biggest criticism of the deal was that the Eagles should have given him the extension a year earlier before he risked a statistical breakout season in 2015, which he did with 9.5 sacks. Cox got what he earned.

Naming Bennie Logan, Vinny Curry, Malcolm Jenkins or Rodney McLeod as the most underrated Eagle would hold water. Eagles fans know how good these players are, but nationally they’re under the radar.

As ridiculous as calling Cox underrated, it gets even crazier when Mr. Scout lists his most overrated Eagle:

Overrated: Carson Wentz

People talked about all the winning that he did in college, but he was really only a two-year starter. He sat on the bench for three years, and it’ll be a huge leap from where he was at North Dakota State to where he needs to be as the new starter of the Eagles in 2016. Philly fans are going to be tough on him. How will he handle that adversity? He has a hitch in his delivery where his elbow flares out, and he’s kind of a rigid guy in the pocket—mechanical is the word that comes to mind. Everybody talks about how smart he is, but that doesn’t always translate. Alex Smith is a classic example—as smart as he is, he does not make quick decisions on the field.

Again, absurd. Is this guy a scout for the Browns? He probably is.

He was only a two year starter, so what. Jameis Winston only started two years, that didn’t hurt him. It’s fine to be hesitant on Wentz because of his level of competition, that’s a legitimate concern. But that’s not Mr. Scout’s real complaint. He questions his mental toughness and IQ, and there’s little chance he’s ever actually talked to Wentz, so he’s just spit balling.

In fairness, there aren’t too many contenders for most overrated Eagle, especially on offense. Jason Peters and Jason Kelce still hold name value despite a down year in 2015, while on defense Mychal Kendricks has not had a consistent career and Jordan Hicks only started 5 games. Picking on Wentz makes it seem like this guy didn’t rate him that high in the draft process and now desperately wants to be proven right. It has huge potential to blow up in his face.

But wait, there’s even more.

Extra Point

When you trade away as much as the Eagles did, you leave yourself without a ton of depth. They don’t have a whole lot of options at linebacker and in the secondary, and they are thin at running back as well. They may be two years away from getting back to a competitive level of play.

It’s true the Eagles lack depth, but what trade did they make that hurt them? DeMarco Murray was one of the worst free agent signings in recent years. Trading him was addition by subtraction. Same for Kiko Alonso, who had the tackling ability of a tackling dummy. Byron Maxwell wasn’t bad, but the Eagles were right to get rid of his contract. As a whole, the Eagles are far, far better off after those trades. They weren’t going anywhere with those players, and in exchange they got draft capital to help them to move up and get Carson Wentz and the financial flexibility to improve the team with free agent signings Brandon Brooks and Rodney McLeod.

Mr. Scout is right that the Eagles are probably two years away from being a truly competitive team, but it’s not because of the trades they have made.

But then, this is a guy who thinks Russell Wilson is overrated.