Seems Eagles rate Wentz, Goff similarly, aren't as high on Lynch

Doug Pederson said Monday he thinks Carson Wentz or Jared Goff can be a franchise quarterback. He said he doesn't think Paxton Lynch "is that far" behind the top two, but the Eagles' coach also said, when asked about possibly taking Lynch with the Birds' top pick in the NFL draft, eighth overall, "I don't know if that would necessarily be the spot to take someone like him."

The Rams' trade up to No. 1 will take one of the quarterbacks off the board. Eagles de facto general manager Howie Roseman said that might be a problem for a hypothetical team seeking to move up to the second overall spot to draft a QB, if that team clearly preferred one over the other; otherwise, it might not be that big an impediment.

"They're very close," Pederson said of Goff and Wentz, as his team prepared to kick off three days of OTAs; the three-day draft will start April 28. "Similar characteristics, good height, good size, smart, intelligent guys ... good arm strength, mobility."

The Eagles traveled to work out all three QBs and brought all three to NovaCare. They have said they expect to obtain a developmental quarterback in the draft, but that could happen after the first round.

Pederson said Wentz, from North Dakota State, is "everything you want in a quarterback at this level," though "you never know" whether someone will live up to his potential.

Pederson said Wentz, Goff and Lynch "are all very similar," noting that Goff, from Cal, is the smallest of the three. He measured in at 6-4, 215 at the NFL Scouting Combine. Wentz was 6-5, 237. Lynch, from Memphis, was 6-7, 244.

"If you haven't spent time with a guy like Carson Wentz," it's hard to evaluate him, given that North Dakota State is an FCS school and plays against less-than-top competition, Pederson said.

"When you finally get him and get him in your building, get your hands on him, have a chance to visit with him and just break it down, this kid's pretty impressive," Pederson said. "I'm excited to see where he goes, and then excited to kind of follow his career."

Wentz was only a two-year starter and he missed eight games with injury as a senior. Pederson said that might be a problem for some teams, but if Wentz were to come to the Eagles, for example, he wouldn't have to play right away, could develop behind Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel.

Pederson ended up talking more about Wentz than any other prospect during a predraft session with reporters.

"You dive into him as a person, his work ethic, his off-the-field attitude … how he handles his teammates, puts him in kind of an elite status when it comes to quarterbacks."

Roseman said "you can't invent one" if a potential franchise QB isn't available where you're picking. He called great QBs drafted after the first round, such as Tom Brady (sixth) and Russell Wilson (third), "unique guys."

Pederson, a former QB, said he would like to draft a quarterback every year.