What You Need to Know:

• Wentz set career lows in completion rate (57.4%), yards per attempt (6.0) and QB Rating (72.8) last year. All 3 of those marks ranked 34th among 35 qualifying QBs.
• He also recorded a career low and ranked 31st among those 35 QBs in Pro Football Focus passing grade.
• Wentz sat 17th at his position in total fantasy points -- 22nd in points per game -- through Week 13.
• He was benched in the 3rd quarter of that Week 13 game and didn’t see the field the rest of the way.
• The Eagles traded Wentz to the Colts in February in exchange for a 2021 3rd-round pick and a conditional 2nd-rounder in 2022 that will turn into a 1st-rounder if Wentz plays at least 75% of the offensive snaps or plays at least 70% of the snaps and the Colts make the playoffs.
• Throughout his 5 years in Philadelphia, Wentz suffered a hairline fracture in his rib (2016), a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee (2017), a stress fracture in his back (2018) and a concussion (2019 playoffs).
• Wentz reunites with HC Frank Reich in Indianapolis. Reich was the OC for Wentz’s first 2 seasons in Philly.
• As a rookie under Reich in 2016, Wentz threw for 3,782 yards, 16 TDs and 14 INTs. He added 150 and 2 scores on the ground to finish 24th among QBs in fantasy points.
• He took a big step forward in 2017, racking up 3,296 yards and 33 TDs through the air -- plus 299 rushing yards -- in 13 games. Wentz ranked 3rd among QBs in fantasy points per game. (He missed the final 3 games of that 2017 season with the torn ACL and LCL.)
• Wentz played in 11 games in 2018, finishing 12th at his position in fantasy points per game. He played all 16 games in 2019 and finished QB8.
• Wentz joins a Colts team that’s been run-leaning the past 2 years, ranking 27th and 25th in pass rate and 24th and 20th in pass attempts. Those teams were quarterbacked by Jacoby Brissett and then Philip Rivers.
• In 2018 -- Reich’s 1st season as HC and with Andrew Luck under center -- Indy finished 7th in pass rate and 2nd in attempts.
• We’re projecting the Colts’ 2021 pass rate to settle in between where it was in 2018 and 2019-2020. This offense still figures to center on Jonathan Taylor and the run game.
• Wentz will operate behind a strong offensive line in Indianapolis. The Colts return 4 of 5 starters from a unit that ranked 7th in both Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking grades and adjusted sack rate last year. The team signed longtime-Chief Eric Fisher to replace the retired Anthony Castonzo at LT -- although Fisher might not be ready until October after tearing his Achilles in January.
• Better protection is key for Wentz, who ranked 32nd among 35 QBs in PFF passing grade when under pressure last year.
• The Colts return 7 of their top 8 target-getters from last season, with TE Trey Burton the only notable departure. Wentz will hopefully also get a healthy season from WR Parris Campbell, who made it through just 1 healthy game last year.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

Wentz gets a fresh start in Indianapolis this season but also finds some familiarity. He’ll be reuniting with HC Frank Reich, who was Wentz’s OC for his first 2 NFL seasons in 2016 and 2017.

Wentz finished 3rd among QBs in fantasy points per game in that 2017 season and also scored as a QB1 in 2018 and 2019. So the disastrous 2020 season looks more like an outlier.

A likely run-leaning Colts offense figures to cap Wentz’s fantasy upside a bit. But we wouldn’t be at all surprised if he bounces back and at least brings spot-start fantasy value in 2021.