Doug Pederson: Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky can be Carson Wentz 2.0
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson thinks all the ingredients are in place for Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to be next year’s version of Carson Wentz.
“Oh, for sure, for sure,” Pederson said on a Wednesday conference call. “We knew last year with Carson as a rookie that there were going to be growing pains and we were going to take some lumps. And also, listen, we just weren’t very good as a football team last year, too, and didn’t have the surrounding pieces around Carson. You kind of see in Mitch, you see the arm talent, you see the athleticism, the strength. You see good decisions, the accuracy. You see things that flash on tape that you go, ‘OK, that’s exactly the way Carson was a year ago.'”
Trubisky mirroring Wentz’s growth from Year 1 to Year 2 would be the best-case scenario for the Bears. Wentz, the second overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft, is a legitimate MVP candidate with 2,430 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and five interceptions through 10 games.
As a rookie, Wentz, who played four years in college in a pro-style offense at North Dakota State, passed for 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 16 starts.
Trubisky is considered a raw prospect after starting only 13 career games at North Carolina. Undeterred by Trubisky’s lack of experience, the Bears made him the No. 2 pick in last April’s draft and named him their starting quarterback in Week 5.
The Bears have proceeded cautiously with Trubisky, who has thrown for 988 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions and rushed for 163 yards since taking over for Mike Glennon.
The Eagles (9-1) host the Bears (3-7) on Sunday.
“You know, I don’t know [Trubisky] personally,” Pederson said. “I’m assuming he studies the game extremely well and prepares well. And the coaches prepare him well and probably, like we did with Carson, try to keep it as simple as possible with the game plan and just let him go play and use his athleticism at times to help out.
“That’s always a positive when you have an athletic quarterback that you can use outside of the pocket, a big, physical guy like that, and you’re seeing the flashes like we saw in Carson. You continue to spend the time with him. You continue to develop. He gets a full offseason coming up, where like Carson you get time away but at the same time you can focus in on your offense and your skill set, and you’ll see big strides from Year 1 to Year 2 in this kid.”
