If there’s any coach in the league who knows quarterback Carson Wentz, it’s Doug Pederson.
But after the two spent five years together with the Eagles, they’ll meet on opposite sidelines on Sunday when the Commanders take on the Jaguars.
On Wednesday, Wentz said his relationship with Pederson was meaningful — particularly in the early stages of Wentz’s career as the No. 2 overall pick in 2016.
“He meant a lot, meant a lot with the kind of whirlwind that year was — learning I was the starter eight days before the season, all those things,” Wentz said in his Wednesday press conference. “I thought he was a great coach, great guy, fun to be around. Meant a lot over the years. Went through a lot of good and some of the bad, obviously, altogether. But he means a lot to me.”
Washington head coach Ron Rivera had talked about picking Wentz’s brain for information about Pederson’s offense, particularly because there isn’t any true film of what Pederson may do with Jacksonville and quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Wentz has shared whatever he can.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously it’s an offense I know a lot about, have been around, been involved with. And so, there’s some of that — there’s always some of that everywhere you go,” Wentz said. “But I think this week will be fun to compete against him, to see him. And not just him, there’s other familiar faces on that side of the ball that I’ve worked with in the past, so it’ll be fun to compete against him.”
As Wentz pointed out, it’s not like Pederson has exactly the same staff and exactly the same personnel, so there will be differences in what the Jaguars do. But having played under Pederson, Wentz has an idea of the attitude and demeanor Jacksonville will bring to the field on Sunday.
“It’ll be interesting to see what they do,” Wentz said. “Obviously, it’s a different D-coordinator, it’s some different pieces over there. But I know he’ll have his guys ready. I always felt ready when I played for him. So I know his offense will be ready to do some good things. I’m confident in our defense at the same time.”