The one good thing about the Dallas Cowboys finishing 4-12 in 2016, aside from that nice draft position, was that (as owners of the worst record in the NFC) the coaching staff would have the opportunity to coach a team in the Senior Bowl.
By coaching the Senior Bowl, Jason Garrett and co. got to know this class of prospects much better than they ever would have otherwise, and that’s a class that includes some enticing quarterbacks. Perhaps chief among those is North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, who apparently made a pretty good impression on Garrett at the Senior Bowl.
“He responded very well,” Garrett said of Wentz, per Pro Football Talk. “When he went against the guys at the Senior Bowl, I thought he fit in really well. He’s a small school guy but he’s a very impressive guy as an individual, just the way he carries himself, his leadership. He’s very impressive physically. He’s a big kid, athletic and he can throw the football. It was a good week for us to get to know him.”
The Cowboys pick fourth overall next month in Chicago, and while there’s no telling if they will target a quarterback that high, the staff’s experience at the Senior Bowl will likely at least inform the big board.
“That week was a great opportunity for us and we took that experience very seriously as a coaching staff,” Garrett said. “You just never get that opportunity. You get a 15-minute interview in Indianapolis and maybe go see a guy workout but to see them up close, go through the work and three days of meetings, getting to know guys like that, including Carson, it was invaluable.”
