Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts' Fantasy Outlook After Eagles-Colts Trade

The long-rumored divorce between Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles finally happened Thursday after they agreed to send him to the Indianapolis Colts. 

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, the Eagles are trading Wentz to Indianapolis for a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional second-round pick in 2022. 

Wentz will be given the keys to the Colts offense, which opens the door for Jalen Hurts to remain Philadelphia's starting quarterback in 2021. 

This trade is a huge win for Wentz's fantasy value, since he will be going to play behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. He still has to prove himself capable of playing at a high level after a brutal showing last season, but the move will make him at least a viable starting option in fantasy next season. 

Hurts remains a fantasy question mark for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the Eagles could pursue a quarterback with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. 

Colts head coach Frank Reich was Wentz's offensive coordinator for his first two seasons in Philadelphia. Wentz was an MVP candidate in 2017 with 3,296 passing yards and 33 touchdowns in 13 games before he tore his ACL in Week 14. 

"…I know and love Carson and he's a close friend of mine," Reich said in December on The Rich Eisen Show (h/t Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan). "And I think he's a really good player. You know I have a lot of belief and confidence in him personally. But right now I'm just more focused on our guys."

Wentz hasn't played up to that 2017 level since Reich left, but he wasn't bad in the first two seasons after. The 28-year-old threw for 7,113 yards and 48 touchdowns with a 66.2 completion percentage in 27 games between 2018-19. He threw for a career-high 4,039 yards in 2019 even though injuries decimated Philadelphia's pass-catching corps. 

The Colts don't have a dynamic group of receivers at the moment. T.Y. Hilton, who led the team with 762 receiving yards last season, is set to become a free agent. But they have a much stronger infrastructure than what Wentz had with Philadelphia in 2020. 

Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus ranked Indianapolis' offensive line as the seventh-best in the NFL last season. Philadelphia came in at No. 19 after playing the entire year without left tackle Andre Dillard and right guard Brandon Brooks because of injuries. 

The combination of an improved offensive line and ground attack led by Jonathan Taylor, who averaged 123.5 rushing yards over the final six weeks, makes Wentz intriguing enough to take as a middle-round quarterback who can end up as a reliable starting option. 

There's obviously a huge downside for Wentz, whose best season came in a near-perfect situation with perhaps the deepest roster in the NFL that went on to win a Super Bowl after he got injured. 

When things weren't perfect for Wentz, he has struggled to elevate the talent around him. Last season saw the bottom fall out for everyone. He was sacked an NFL-high 50 times and tied with Drew Lock for the most interceptions thrown (15), even though he only played in 12 games. 

Hurts showed promise in his four games as Philadelphia's starting quarterback, but he also has a long way to go. The 22-year-old never completed more than 56.7 percent of his attempts in any of his four starts, although he did have back-to-back 300-yard games against the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys. 

Hurts' running ability is what sets him apart as a fantasy option. He ran for 272 yards and three touchdowns on 46 attempts as the starter. 

Per Andrew Erickson of Pro Football Focus, Hurts' average of 26.6 fantasy points from Weeks 14-16 ranked third among all quarterbacks, trailing only Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. 

While Hurts has a huge fantasy ceiling, the Eagles have to decide whether they want to commit to him. Schefter reported this week that the Oklahoma alum isn't guaranteed the job in Wentz's absence. 

"First of all, if and when the Eagles move on from Carson Wentz like I said and like we've been saying they will, I don't think they're just set at the quarterback position," Schefter said on the John Kincade Show on 97.5 The Fanatic (h/t Nick Kosko of 247Sports). "OK, it's Jalen Hurts and we're riding him. ... I still think they'll look around. Whether that's the draft, whether that's a trade."

First-year head coach Nick Sirianni, who spent the past three seasons as Indianapolis' offensive coordinator, wasn't with the Eagles when they drafted Hurts in the second round last year. 

This is a deep year for first-round quarterbacks beyond projected top pick Trevor Lawrence. BYU's Zach Wilson, Ohio State's Justin Fields, North Dakota State's Trey Lance and Alabama's Mac Jones could all go early based on the number of teams currently looking for help at the position. 

Until there's a definitive answer about who the Eagles will start under center in 2021, Hurts is too risky to bet on as anything more than a late-round fantasy option.