Carson Wentz Falls From 3rd To 96th On 'NFL Top 100' List

PHILADELPHIA, PA — With the trade of Nick Foles in the offseason, Carson Wentz officially became the Eagles quarterback of the future. It was a status only solidified when he signed a four-year contract extension worth up to $128 million, keeping the 26-year-old in Philadelphia through the 2024 season.

NFL Network has once again released their preseason list of the top 100 players in the world, and Wentz is still on that list. But it's in a bit of a different spot than 2018.

Just a year ago, Wentz debuted at third overall, trailing only Tom Brady and Antonio Brown as the league's most important player. In 2019, he's made the list again — but only just barely. He is in 96th on the latest iteration of the NFL Top 100, published Monday night.

>>Carson Wentz Signs 4-Year Contract Extension

The true value of Wentz has been endlessly debated both in Philadelphia sports circles and around the NFL. There are two questions that keep popping up.

First, which version of Wentz are Eagles fans most likely to see in 2019-20 and into the future? Is it the 2017 version that turned in an MVP campaign through the season's first 13 games, guaranteeing the Eagles the playoff berth that would ultimately result in a Super Bowl championship? That version of Wentz had a 77.2 quarterback rating, led a dynamic offense, went 11-2, and showed himself to be one of the best passers in the league. Or is it the 2018 version of Wentz, whose offense never took flight the way it had the year before, winning five games and losing six, and whose rating dropped to 64.9?

It would be unfair to judge Wentz too harshly on the slide in performance last year, as he was recovering from the long-lingering knee injury that ended his season prematurely a year prior. But that leads to the perhaps more relevant second question: will he ever be healthy in the long run? Wentz fans can be uber confident about his ability to return to the elite heights of 2017 and still be unsure about the injuries that have consistently bugged him. Two years in a row, Wentz suffered a season-ending injury, after 13 games in 2017 and then again after 11 games in 2018.

As Wentz goes, so too could the Eagles offense. Without the safety plan of Foles in the fold, the team's actions this offseason have placed everything on his shoulders. Being ranked 96th on this list is surely motivation for a man who can be MVP if he puts it all together.

The NFL Top 100 is released 10 players at a time, so the full list has not yet been revealed. Stay tuned for coverage of any future Eagle inclusions. And watch NFL Network's video profile on Wentz over at NFL.com.