It was one only handful of passes Carson Wentz threw on Tuesday that fell incomplete, but it was perhaps the most important one he threw all day.
After dropping back, Wentz rocketed a ball down the field, throwing it towards the front corner of the end zone. Instead of finding his intended target, the ball hit the ground as receiver DeSean Jackson cut towards the middle of the field.
After the play, Wentz and Jackson walked about 20 yards together, discussing what they saw, why Jackson cut in when Wentz threw towards the sideline, and worked towards getting on the same page.
It was a play that perfectly showed why OTAs, no matter what anyone tries to tell you, absolutely do matter.
They are especially important for quarterback Carson Wentz, who for the first time in close to 17 months is completely healthy and practicing without any limitations.
"To be able to -- let's just say -- take a play from practice [last] Thursday and be able to go talk about it this morning in a meeting and maybe make a tweak in a read here or there. Because [this year] he's out there and he's feeling it; he's not just watching the tape," offensive coordinator Mike Groh said of Wentz. "Being able to have those kinds of productive discussions. All those things are helpful."
Now a full season removed from his ACL tear, it is clear how much time Wentz had to commit last offseason to his rehab impacted him. Instead of taking all the first-team reps during OTAs, like he did on Tuesday, Wentz wasn't even taking team reps at all this time last offseason. When he eventually did, they were mostly with the second-or-third team with a handful sprinkled in.
With all of the focus on his health last offseason, something that wasn't discussed enough was how poorly he actually played during the practices. During the mandatory minicamp last offseason, Wentz attempted just 20 team-drill passes in three practices. In training camp, for example, Wentz was 64/100 with nine touchdowns to five interceptions. Not great, especially when you consider the previous training camp he was 227 of 330 for 31 touchdowns to five interceptions.
The result was a disappointing season in which Wentz and the offense never really clicked.
Wentz has shown what he can do with a full offseason of work, and the fact that he is currently projected to get it has some in the national media excited about what he could accomplish this year.
During the 2017 offseason, prior to the ACL tear and back injury, Wentz got all of the reps with the first team, just like he will this offseason. He was lights out that offseason, both during OTAs and training camp, and looked like a player that was about to take a big leap forward — something he did in a major way, leading the Eagles to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and being considered an MVP candidate before being injured.
Wentz looked like that player on Tuesday. He picked the Eagles' defense apart all day. His accuracy looked considerably better than last year. He was comfortable in the pocket and moved way better than he did when he had on the knee brace.
Wentz's return from back-to-back season-ending injuries is far from over. He needs to prove he can stay healthy, something he can't do in May.
What he can do in May, however, is take advantage of the practice reps he wasn't getting last year.
And so far, Wentz isn't just taking advantage of them, he is dominating them — a sign of very good things to come for the Eagles.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
