PHILADELPHIA -- Andy Reid’s plan was fairly simple. After taking Donovan McNabb with the No. 2 pick in the 1999 draft, Reid didn’t want his young quarterback to play until he was ready.

And until the team around him was ready. That was a big part of the plan, too. That’s why Reid signed free-agent quarterback Doug Pederson to start while McNabb learned. Pederson knew the offense from his time with Reid in Green Bay, and he could make sure the team lined up correctly and that everyone was on the same page.

Pederson started the first seven games of the 1999 season. McNabb took over after that. He remained the No. 1 quarterback for a decade.

Will the Eagles' brain trust install No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz as the starting quarterback by Week 1? AP Photo/Rich Schultz

In 2016, Pederson is the new Eagles head coach. Carson Wentz is the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. And Pederson has Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel at No. 1 and 2 on his QB depth chart. The plan is to bring Wentz along the way Reid did McNabb.

But is that the way the league works now? It’s a fair question. In 1999, it wasn’t an absolute certainty that quarterbacks should watch from the sideline for a while. Tim Couch, the No. 1 overall pick that year, started the second game of his rookie season in Cleveland. Peyton Manning, the No. 1 pick in 1998, started all 16 games as a rookie.

But the Reid plan was popular in the wake of McNabb’s maturation. In 2000, Chad Pennington was the only quarterback drafted in the first round. The New York Jets didn’t start him for two seasons.

In 2001, Michael Vick didn’t start until the eighth game of his rookie season. Chris Chandler started until Vick was deemed ready.

In 2002: No. 1 pick David Carr started all 16 games. Joey Harrington (Game 3) and Patrick Ramsey (Game 5) spent a few games on the sideline first.

In 2003: No. 1 pick Carson Palmer watched while Jon Kitna played the whole season in Cincinnati. Byron Leftwich watched for three games, Rex Grossman for 13. Baltimore’s Kyle Boller started from Game 1 of his rookie season.

In 2004: Eli Manning was the No. 1 pick. He sat for nine games while Kurt Warner started. In San Diego, Philip Rivers spent two seasons on the bench while Drew Brees played.

Ultimately, the approach didn’t really seem to have much impact on the development of the quarterbacks. Grossman didn’t become an elite quarterback by sitting for 12 games. Neither did Ramsey after a four-game apprenticeship.

By late in the decade, the thinking appeared to shift again. In 2008, two quarterbacks were taken in the first round. Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco both started Week 1 and started all 16 games as rookies. A year later, Matthew Stafford started his first game, while Mark Sanchez started 15 games as a rookie.

The No. 1 overall pick in three consecutive drafts started all 16 games as a rookie: Bradford (2010), Cam Newton (2011) and Andrew Luck (2012). Last season, top two picks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota started from Week 1 of the season.

In 2014, Blake Bortles was the top quarterback taken. He watched for three games and then started the last 13 games.

Pederson may wish to let Wentz wait on the sideline, but that will be the exception to the new NFL rule. The Los Angeles Rams have already said that No. 1 pick Jared Goff will start from Week 1.

But even if Wentz doesn’t start the season opener, that doesn’t mean Bradford will start for the entire season. A lot of coaches have held first-round quarterbacks out for a few games, but many of those quarterbacks have become starters by midway through the season.

McNabb is included in that group. Pederson went to the bench midway through the 1999 season and was released the following summer. It turns out to be pretty tough to keep the better quarterback on the sideline for very long.