Colts: Let’s pump the brakes on Carson Wentz-Andrew Luck comparisons

Good on TY Hilton for trying to jack up his new teammate, but even the most loyal Indianapolis Colts fan would call it a stretch to compare Carson Wentz to Andrew Luck in any capacity right now.

Hilton recently said after he worked out with Wentz that the former Eagles quarterback has some Luck “traits,” and while that may be true, it’s not worth putting that much pressure on Wentz and indirectly disrespecting Luck.

And it’s totally fair to evaluate the two side by side. Luck retired after seven NFL seasons (he missed all of 2017 due to injury) and Wentz has five under his belt, heading into his sixth with his new team.

It’s not a good idea for Colts fans to compare Carson Wentz to Andrew Luck.

It’s not like Luck had it made during his Colts career. During his tenure, the Colts’ defense ranked 21st, 9th, 19th, 25th, 22nd, and 10th in points allowed. Even worse? Yards allowed. 26th, 20th, 11th, 26th, 30th, 11th.

What was Wentz given during his time in Philly? Well, for one. A Super Bowl roster back in 2017. That year, unfortunately, he went down late in the season with a torn ACL and Nick Foles was able to finish off the job. But here’s the support Wentz had on the defensive side of the ball:

• 2016: 12th in points allowed, 13th in yards allowed
• 2017: 4th in points allowed, 4th in yards allowed
• 2018: 12th in points allowed, 23rd in yards allowed
• 2019: 15th in points allowed, 10th in yards allowed
• 2020: 20th in points allowed, 19th in yards allowed

He only led the Eagles to a top-10 scoring offense once while Luck did that three times, and in Luck’s two injury-shortened seasons, the unit nose-dived to 24th and 30th.

How about 4,000-yard seasons? Four for Luck, one for Wentz.

30-plus touchdown seasons? Three for Luck, one for Wentz.

40-plus touchdown seasons? One for Luck, zero for Wentz.

Record? 53-33 for Luck, 35-32-1 for Wentz.

But there are some bright spots for Wentz, who has these stats going for him:

• 2% interception rate, which was better than Luck’s 2.5%
• 89.2 QBR, which is a shade under Luck’s 89.5 mark
• 62.7% completion percentage, which best Luck’s 60.8% mark

That at least points us in a helpful direction when it comes to the embattled QB. Sure, he’s mobile, has a rocket arm, the capability to make game-breaking plays, and has shown a lot of success going deep.

But he’s not Andrew Luck. He has yet to fully carry an offense on his back from start to finish (though he’s done so in stretches). He has too many mechanical issues for a sixth-year pro, whereas Luck was readymade since Day 1.

We’re not discounting Wentz rediscovering his form and making the Colts Super Bowl contenders, but let’s not put even more pressure on the guy by comparing him to the third-best quarterback in franchise history behind Peyton Manning and Johnny Unitas.

Let him go out there and create his own expectations. Also, we love Luck, but it’d be great if we can stop being reminded of what could have been with him under center on this current team.

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