PHOENIX -- Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said that if everything works out with Carson Wentz, there can be a book written on everything that went into the eventual acquisition of the quarterback. By the sounds of it, their pre-draft notes alone would get them at least halfway home.

“It was a very detailed, involved process,” said Lurie on Tuesday from the NFL’s owners meetings. “Very detailed. Multiple workouts. The testing was psychologically, medically, in every way you can imagine, in ways you’ve never even heard of. ... Eighty pages of reports.”

Speaking publicly for the first time in a year, Lurie revealed new anecdotes about the lead-up to drafting Wentz at No. 2 overall. He pointed to the team’s trip to North Dakota as a defining moment in what turned into an aggressive pursuit of the signal-caller.

The intelligence, talent and leadership qualities of Carson Wentz have team owner Jeffrey Lurie pumped about the Eagles' future. "I couldn't be more excited about the direction of the franchise," he said. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

“I’m sitting in the room in North Dakota, and they are grilling Carson for a long time. And after the meeting, Carson leaves and they all look at each other, and [coach] Doug [Pederson], [offensive coordinator] Frank [Reich], [quarterbacks coach] John [DeFilippo], they start talking and they each ask each other: ‘Have you ever seen anything like this?’ Have you ever seen anything like this mentally in terms of what they challenged him to do? And the answer was yes, but extremely rarely. I won’t mention who, but it’s somebody we all hope he becomes.”

Pederson has already called Wentz’s preparation “Peyton Manning-ish” and said Wentz reminds him “a little bit of Brett Favre, honestly.” Reich said physically Wentz was like a blend of Jim Kelly and Andrew Luck.

Lurie tried to avoid going overboard in his assessment of Wentz, noting that one encouraging season does not a career make, but it’s as clear as ever that the front office is giddy about potentially hitting on a gem.

Lurie called the QB’s personality and leadership qualities “special” and believes “all the ingredients are there with Carson,” including physical ability and intelligence.

“He’s got a way with his teammates that’s impressive,” Lurie said. “He’s a humble person, very talented young man, humble and hard-working to the core. I think we’ve seen guys come into the league that have that, and you hope he’s one of those because the best quarterbacks in this league lead from hard work and being humble and they’re very smart.”

Lurie revealed that the Eagles tried very hard to acquire the top overall pick in last April’s draft, but it was the Rams who struck a deal with the Tennessee Titans. Top personnel executive Howie Roseman and Co. were able to ascertain that the Rams were going to draft Jared Goff, and the wheels were set in motion to make a deal with the Cleveland Browns for the second overall pick. It is a move that Lurie hopes will lead to a storybook ending.

“I give our guys a tremendous amount of credit for identifying a very special player and person and athlete who has a lot of the ingredients we’re looking for," Lurie said. "We made the move, the rest is history and we’ll see how it all plays out over the years because you never know. You don’t fool yourself into thinking you have something until it all happens and it all gets put together. But just as an owner, I couldn’t be more excited about the direction of the franchise.”