Category: Gardner Minshew

Senior Bowl director on Gardner Minshew: He’s a first or second-round pick in a 2019 re-draft

Just as sure as Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II has some people who are in his corner, he also has his share of doubters. The team’s front office clearly are amongst the crowd that believes in him. Instead of drafting a …

Just as sure as Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II has some people who are in his corner, he also has his share of doubters. The team’s front office clearly are amongst the crowd that believes in him.

Instead of drafting a quarterback high or acquiring a starting caliber veteran, the Jaguars elected to add more weapons for Minshew and improve their defense, which speaks volumes about their belief in his potential. They also traded veteran Nick Foles to make it clear of their belief in him, then proceeded to add players like Tyler Eifert, Laviska Shenault Jr., and Collin Johnson to their receivers corps.

Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy, who got to watch Minshew first-hand last year before the draft, is also amongst those who believes Minshew at least deserves a shot to prove himself. In the process of joining 1010XL radio Thursday, he stated that the Jags are smart for their choice to see what they have in Minshew as he garnered a 6-6 record and a higher rating than even 2019 first overall pick Kyler Murray. He also added that there wasn’t a lot of help around him and that Minshew proved that he was underdrafted in 2019.

“[There was] not a great supporting cast around him,” Nagy said. “To me those are all huge takeaways from a rookie season. Where he got drafted in the sixth-round there are probably skeptics, but if all you do is change the draft plot and say that Gardner went in the first-round I think that people would be saying ‘Of course, he has the chance to be a franchise guy.’ People that are saying he doesn’t have a chance are probably just pointing to where he got drafted. He obviously got grossly underdrafted. In hindsight if there was a re-draft of last year, he’s a first or second-round pick.”

I definitely agree that Minshew’s sixth-round label is something that many may look too deeply into. However, there are exemptions that pop up every now and then and a franchise like the Jags probably should definitely utilize 2020 to see if they struck gold like the New England Patriots once did with Tom Brady.

As mentioned in my game-by-game predictions, the late part of the season could especially prove what the Jags have in Minshew if the offense is relatively healthy. He’ll face three top-6 defenses during the team’s last five games in the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and Baltimore Ravens, all of whom will be potentially focusing on strong finishes to make the postseason.

5 takeaways from Jags’ 2020 schedule

There is a lot to takeaway from the Jags’ schedule but the biggest may be the rough ending to it.

The league released the schedules of all 32 teams Thursday including the Jacksonville Jaguars’. With the team set to play a full slate of home games for the first time since 2012, many fans were excited to see the order in which the home schedule would come.

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Coach Doug Marrone will look to improve upon the results we’ve seen in 2018-19 and will have to do so with a very young roster. One thing working in his favor is the fact that the Jags’ strength of schedule ranks 22nd, significantly better than what he’s faced in the past.

All of that said, here are some of the observations we came away with after thoroughly evaluating the schedule:

Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

The Jags start off the season with two difficult divisional games

The Jaguars will start their 2020 regular season against the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans Week 1-2, which means they can pile up two losses quickly. On the other hand, it also could give them a chance to make some noise early within the AFC South.

Neither opponent will be easy to defeat, although the Jags did split their series with both last year. However, things are different now as Indy has Philip Rivers who is 7-2 overall against them with a 69.44% completion rate in their head-to-heads. Additionally, he’s thrown 24 touchdowns with just five picks against them.

The Titans also have the Jags’ number as Jacksonville has lost five of their last six meetings against them. The good thing is that the one victory that came against the Titans over that span was with Gardner Minshew II under center. He’ll be the one battling them Week 2 as well, so maybe he can restore his magic and get the Jags an early win in the season.

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4 players from the Jags offense who could take a step forward

With the additions made to the Jags’ roster, Cam Robinson is just one of several offensive guys who could make tremendous strides in 2020.

The Jacksonville Jaguars as a whole must improve as 2018-19 has left fans beyond disappointed. If they are to make progress, their offense especially will need to make strides because we’re now at a day and age where the most successful teams are the ones that put up a lot of points.

After finishing 26th offensively last season (with an average of 18.8 points per game), the front office knew adjustments had to be made, and while they catered to the offense more, they certainly didn’t leave the defense hanging. Now, it will be a matter of putting it all together during the offseason and preseason, then letting their work speak in the regular season.

The new acquisitions made to the team shouldn’t only help the Jags improve offensively, but they should also help some of the key players from the 2019 unit get better, too. Here are four names we think will take a step forward in 2020 thanks to the additions made by the front office:

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

QB Gardner Minshew II

While the Jags didn’t add a starter on the offensive line for Gardner Minshew II (unless Ben Bartch replaces someone), he could still take a big step forward. The reason for that is because the Jags might be right to gamble on the offensive line taking a step forward after spending a lot of investments into the unit.

The other key reason Minshew could flourish is because of the pass-catching options the Jags added. Granted he will have to stay healthy, Laviska Shenault Jr. could be a solid No. 2 receiver who alleviates the pressure off of Pro Bowler D.J. Chark Jr.

The other key pass-catchers that will be added into the mix are tight ends Tyler Eifert, who also needs to stay healthy, Josh Oliver, and James O’Shaughnessy. Eifert, a former Pro Bowler, knows the system better than anyone at the moment as he played under coordinator Jay Gruden in Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, O’Shaughnessy was Minshew’s favorite target early in the 2019 season before going on injured reserve, while Oliver built a strong bond with him in training camp. If they can pick up where they left off, it would be huge for the second-year quarterback.

The bigger question is rather or not the progress Minshew makes is significant enough to prevent the Jags from taking a quarterback early next year. In a recent episode of the “Bleav in Jags” podcast, I personally said Minshew needs to look like a top-12 quarterback or better to prevent the Jags from finding another starter.

If he doesn’t and the Jags find themselves in the top-10 of the draft order again, they definitely should explore options in the draft. If he does, and they are still in the top-10, picks it would probably be better if they continued forward with him and spent their draft pick elsewhere.

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Winners, losers after Jags’ 2020 NFL Draft haul

While Gardner Minshew didn’t get any immediate starters on the offensive line, he did get some threats at receiver to help him in 2020.

With every draft class comes the potential of veterans being replaced by younger and cheaper options. That applies for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the class they brought in last month, which consisted of a whopping 12 draft picks. Add in the fact that the team added 18 undrafted players, and it appears Dave Caldwell could be looking to make the team super young.

That being said, there were some players on the roster who benefitted from the moves made in the draft while others, unfortunately, didn’t.

Here’s our list of winners and losers from the annual event:

Winners

(Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

OT Cam Robinson

Many fans were hoping the Jags drafted an offensive tackle or guard early to help upgrade the line, but that did not happen. In fact, with the offensive tackle class being talented at the top, the Jags elected to pass on names like Mekhi Becton, Tristan Wirfs, and Jedrick Wills, all of whom were thought to be top-15 prospects grade-wise.

This is huge for Cam Robinson as he will now get to return to the starting lineup and protect Minshew’s blindside. While his play has been sporadic, there is a chance he’ll improve in 2020, especially when considering he’ll be further removed from his ACL tear from 2018. That said, like Minshew, 2020 is a year for Robinson to be a permanent starter as he’ll be playing on the last year of his rookie contract.

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Jaguars land QB Justin Fields, CB Paulson Adebo in way-too-early 2021 Draft Wire mock

Our comrades from Draft Wire have projections for 2021! With the Jags having the lowest Super Bowl LV odds, they were able to land a new QB.

It’s been a week since the 2020 NFL Draft concluded for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the league in general. In the process, the team made all 12 of their selections (to the surprise of many) and were able to land some phenomenal athletes to the roster.
While the draft’s conclusion will allow fans to now focus on offseason workouts and training camp for their respective teams, our hard-working friends at Draft Wire moved right on to the 2021 draft. Why you ask? Well, because it’s never too early to start looking ahead.
Using the latest Super Bowl odds from BetMGM to determine the draft order, they have the Jags taking Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields second overall. Afterward, with the first-round pick they received from the Los Angeles Rams, the Jags once again went with a cornerback by selecting Stanford’s Paulson Adebo to pair with C.J. Henderson.
The Jags being slotted Fields is no surprise as it will be a routine thing despite there being a chance Gardner Minshew II could pan out. Many of the nation’s draft pundits feel as though Jags fans and the organization need “that guy” at quarterback, and if the Jags end up being second in next year’s draft order, that could mean Minshew or the offense didn’t fare too well.
As for Fields, there is a lot to like about him as a prospect. At 6-foot-3, 223 pounds, he can do it all from dissecting teams from the pocket or using his feet. He proved to be very accurate and took care of the ball in 2019 finishing the season 238-of-354 (67.2%) for 3,273 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and just three picks.
Adebo is a player our own Daniel Griffis did a breakdown on as he was eligible to enter 2020’s draft. In the breakdown, he praised Adebo’s length (at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds), ball skills (he was a former receiver), and athleticism, all of which are traits the Jags proved they liked with last week’s selections.
Of course, by targeting a cornerback early next year, it would mean that Tre Herndon didn’t pan out as many had hoped, but like Minshew, he shouldn’t be discounted. After all, he showed a great deal of growth while starting in 14 games for the Jags in 2019 as Jalen Ramsey was traded and A.J. Bouye dealt with injuries. That said, fans should watch him with a close eye this upcoming season as he could take another step in the right direction and solidifying himself alongside Henderson.

Andy Dalton signs with Cowboys

Andy Dalton won’t be joining the Jags after many reported they were interested in him. Instead, he’ll be going back to his home state.

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Despite all of the reported interest in Andy Dalton, the veteran won’t be joining the Jacksonville Jaguars and his former offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. Instead, he’ll be going back to his home state, Texas, to join the Dallas Cowboys.

Per Adam Schefter, his deal is one that will guarantee $3 million and allows him the opportunity to make up to $7 million.

Dalton is from Katy, roughly three hours and 30 minutes away from Dallas. He attended the University of Texas Christian as a collegiate player where he finished his career as the winningest quarterback in the history of the program (with 41 wins).

Now, he’ll join the Cowboys who appear to have a franchise quarterback in Dak Prescott who is in the process of trying to get a long-term deal with the team. However, if he isn’t ready to see the field Week 1, Dalton gives them a respectable signal-caller who is a three-time Pro Bowler. Statistically, he’ll enter his run with the Cowboys with a 62% career completion rate (2,757-of-4,449) for 31,594 yards, 118 interceptions, and 204 touchdowns.

Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Jags had been eying Dalton before the draft with many speculating that the team would release him. Most tend to think it was for a backup role behind Gardner Minshew II and his decision to sign with Dallas might be proof of that. Now, the Jags will have to go back to the drawing boards if they aren’t fine with Joshua Dobbs and rookie Jake Luton behind Minshew.

Bengals release QB Andy Dalton

The Bengals have released Andy Dalton, which now means the Jags can take a swing at him as a free agent.

After the selection of Joe Burrow first overall, many figured it was a matter of time for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton to part ways with the Cincinnati Bengals. That moment came Thursday morning, now putting the veteran on the open market.

Of course, this news is important to Jacksonville Jaguars fans because they’ve been long rumored to have interest in him. Several weeks ago, NFL insider Ian Rapoport joined us via the “Bleav in the Jags” podcast and labeled Dalton as a guy to watch for the Jags if released. The veteran spent the first three years of his career playing under current Jags offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and the two seemingly built a good relationship in the process.

The Bengals were also able to make the postseason each time although they could never exit the first-round. That eventually led to Gruden getting a head coaching job with the Washington Redskins where he spent just over four seasons.

The Jags seem to be ready to start Gardner Minshew II, but acquiring Dalton would give them one of the better backup quarterback situations in football. Dalton will enter 2020 with a 62% career completion rate (2,757-of-4,449) for 31,594 yards, 118 interceptions, and 204 touchdowns.

As it stands, the Jags’ No. 2 quarterback is Joshua Dobbs, who doesn’t have a career start to his name despite the team giving up a fifth-round pick for him last season. They also have Oregon State’s Jake Luton, who they selected in this past weekend’s draft. He’ll be coming off a season where he threw for 2,714 yards, completed 62% of his passed, and accumulated 28 touchdowns.

 

Several way-too-early 2021 NFL mock drafts slot Jags Trevor Lawrence No. 1 overall

Buckled up Jags fans, it appears the nation’s NFL analysts are projecting a bumpy season.

While the Jacksonville Jaguars had a solid 2020 NFL Draft and could have a solid nucleus after using all 12 of their picks this past weekend, many don’t believe they’ll be very good next year. In fact, the good folks at BetMGM feel as though the Jags have the slimmest chance to win Super Bowl LV, slotting them with odds of 150/1, which is tied with the Washington Redskins.

Of course, that has led many to believe the Jags will be picking first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft that will take place in Cleveland. Additionally, it has also connected them to the prospect who most draft pundits have down as their No. 1 prospect in Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Upon searching the web, it didn’t take long to find a few way-too-early mocks with the Jags taking the young Tiger. In fact, one that came across the Jags Wire’s Twitter timeline Saturday was by The Draft Network’s Trevor Sikkema, who also had the Jags getting Lawrence’s teammate Justyn Ross with their other first-round selection (from the Los Angeles Rams).

Trevor Sikkema (The Draft Network)

1.) Jacksonville Jaguars – Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

Gardner Minshew is the guy in Jacksonville for 2020. If the Jaguars are picking anywhere near the top, quarterback will be their biggest need; they’ll get the QB prospect NFL fans have been waiting for for years.

17.) Jacksonville Jaguars – Justyn Ross, WR, Clemson

Lawrence to Justyn Ross sounds so good on the broadcasts, why break that up?

Talk about a pairing. While I’m more of a Justin Fields type of guy, Lawrence and Ross have done some phenomenal things on the collegiate level and Jags fans should have their popcorn ready if this happens.

Sporting News was another publication that has posted their way-too-soon mock and it bared the same result with the No. 1 overall pick, however, the Jags were able to land some defensive help with their other first-round selection.

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News)

1.) Jacksonville Jaguars – Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

The Jaguars may be sticking with Gardner Minshew. And with more potential departures to shake up their offensive and defensive rebuild, there’s a fair chance they will have the clear shot at Lawrence. Lawrence (6-6, 220 pounds) has lived up to the hype of being the best college talent at the position since John Elway with his arm, athleticism, accuracy and winning qualities. Already a top passer, he found his groove as a runner last season.

15.) Jacksonville Jaguars LaBryan Ray, DT, Alabama

The Jaguars strongly consider linebacker, edge rusher and secondary in the 2020 draft, so it follows they would be more into this defensive position in 2021, looking to give third-round rookie Davon Hamilton a strong complement. Look for Ray to dominate during his final season with the Crimson Tide at 6-5, 292 pounds.

Just like the pairing of Lawrence and Ross, the pairing of LaBryan Ray and DaVon Hamilton sound pretty good two. After years of watching the pairing of John Henderson and Marcus Stroud, it would seem as though a lot of Jags fans could get behind this.

The crew over at CBS also have a 2021 way-too-soon mock up by Ryan Wilson. He spoke with analysts Barton Simmons and Pete Prisco (who knows the Jags very well). Prisco praised Lawrence as a very good quarterback and said he’s a better quarterback than 2020 first-round pick Joe Burrow, who Lawrence battled in the national championship.

CBS Sports (Ryan Wilson)

Of course, there is a lot of football to be played before we even try to start remotely predicting the Jags’ 2021 outlook but it does provide fans with a fun conversation to have.

This also doesn’t mean that Gardner Minshew II should be overlooked as he led the Jags to six wins in 2019. He’ll have some new weapons in draft selections Laviska Shenault and Collin Johnson and will also have a new veteran tight end in Tyler Eifert to target if he can stay healthy. Add that with some more growth from Leonard Fournette and D.J. Chark, with the return of Josh Oliver, and it appears the Mississippi Mustache could really improve.

If he takes a big enough step, awesome, the Jags have their quarterback of the future. If not, that may not necessarily be a bad thing either as it could lead them to a front-row seat for the Lawrence or Fields show.

Poll: Should Jags sign recently released TE Trey Burton?

Jags coach Doug Marrone said his team was till looking for upgrades at TE and one may have just become available.

With the 2020 NFL Draft coming up, the Chicago Bears decided to make a roster move by releasing tight end Trey Burton. With his role set to decrease due to the addition of Jimmy Graham, the team decided to move on and add a little more cap space ($2.8 million) by designating him as a post-June 1 release.

Burton’s departure comes after cashing in on a big-time four-year $32 million free-agency deal after helping propel the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl LII victory several years ago. However, he was only able to total 653 yards and six touchdowns in 24 games played over the course of the last two years due to injury. Last season was especially uneventful for him as he registered only 14 receptions for 84 yards and no scores.

For the right price, one team that could be interested in bringing the former Gator back to the state of Florida are the Jacksonville Jaguars, who Doug Marrone said was still looking to make upgrades at tight end last month. As pointed out by Mike Kaye of NJ.com, he has a play style that could benefit Jay Gruden and their offense as they try and add weapons for Gardner Minshew II.

Acquiring Burton would also fit Dave Caldwell’s philosophy of plugging as many holes as possible before the draft. While his availability may be the biggest concern, getting the veteran at the right price could pay off in the end, especially if they structure his deal like Eifert’s and can get a decent season out of him.

Now, we’d like to hear from y’all at home? Should the Jags take a swing at Burton? Feel free to cast a vote in the poll below.

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Jaguars 2019 draftees land in various spots in first-round re-draft

The Jags had arguably the most productive draft class and they had multiple players go in the first-round of a recent re-draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t have a good 2019 campaign but it wasn’t because of their 2019 draft class. While other parts of the roster blew up in their faces, Tom Coughlin and Dave Caldwell got a great deal of production out of their rookie class.

Some draft analysts have gone on to say the Jags’ 2019 class was the most productive and that showed in a recent 2019 first-round re-draft by Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report. In fact, three members from the Jags’ 2019 class were selected in defensive end Josh Allen, right tackle Jawaan Taylor, and quarterback Gardner Minshew II.

3. New York Jets: Josh Allen, DE, Kentucky
Original Selection: Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama

The New York Jets are the first team to choose differently than they did initially. This is because original selection Quinnen Williams isn’t the best fit for defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ system.

“Quinnen is handicapped, in my opinion, by the defense. You put him in Philly, he’s Fletcher Cox,” former NFL edge-rusher Chuck Smith said, per Matt Stypulkoski of NJ.com.

Williams was largely used as a space-eating tackle during his rookie campaign. What Williams’ aggressive scheme needs—and what the Jets lack—is a premier edge-rusher. Therefore, they’ll scoop up former Kentucky sack-artist Josh Allen here.

While Allen wasn’t quite as dominant as Bosa, he’s a fine consolation prize. He finished his inaugural campaign with 10.5 sacks.

The part that they left out was the fact that Allen went to the Pro Bowl, too. While he didn’t garner more tackles than Nick Bosa, he beat him out in the sacks category during the regular season. He also registered one more forced fumble than Bosa. Both feats came despite Allen starting in less games (four) than Bosa (14) and having less defensive snaps than him (634 to 777).

Next, the mock had Taylor going to the Los Angeles Chargers for pick No. 28.

28. Los Angeles Chargers: Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
Original Selection: Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame

Philip Rivers is out as the Los Angeles Chargers’ quarterback, but that doesn’t mean that L.A. should ignore its offensive line. The Chargers signed Bryan Bulaga and traded for guard Trai Turner in free agency, but they traded left tackle Russell Okung to get him.

Jawaan Taylor made starts at both right and left tackle in college, as did Bulaga. Adding Taylor gives the Chargers a pair of premier options to compete on the left side, with the loser kicking back to right tackle.

Or, in the event Los Angeles lands the left-handed Tagovailoa in the 2020 draft, the situation could be reversed.

Adding Taylor at least gives the Chargers some flexibility at the tackle spot. If they pass on a quarterback at six this year, they can grab a premier tackle prospect. If they take a signal-caller, they’re not going to have that chance.

Original selection Jerry Tillery, who had just 17 tackles and two sacks as a rookie, isn’t even a consideration here.

Taylor struggled with penalties and finished with 15 on the season, good for the second-most in the NFL. However, during the Jags last stretch of games, he certainly cleared the issue up, played better, and looked like a first-round caliber talent. He also was the only rookie to play 100% of his eligible snaps. Just like Allen, the future is bright for him.

The last Jag to get taken was Minshew, who went last to the New England Patriots.

32. New England Patriots: Gardner Minshew, QB, Washington State
Original Selection: N’Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State

New England replacing a Pro Bowl quarterback with a sixth-round surprise? Where have we heard this story before?

The Patriots lost quarterback Tom Brady to the Buccaneers in free agency this offseason. They have second-year man Jarrett Stidham and journeyman Brian Hoyer on the roster, but there’s a chance that neither is the long-term answer at quarterback. Washington State gunslinger Gardner Minshew—originally a sixth-round pick of the Jaguars—could be.

Is Minshew fully proven? Of course not. However, he showed a lot of potential in his first campaign, passing for 3,271 yards with 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Perhaps more importantly for New England, he showed the mentality of a winner.

”I think the biggest thing for me is that I helped my team win, and I did that better than any [first-round] rookie quarterback, so that gets me fired up,” Minshew said, per Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union.

Minshew’s brash personality may not mesh with the Patriot Way, but his pocket presence, accuracy and the boulder-sized chip on his shoulder certainly do.

While Jags fans would hate the sight of this, the Patriots would be scary if they had their potential quarterback of the future in place. Pairing his deep ball accuracy and elusiveness in the pocket with the minds of Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels would have the Patriots in good shape for a post-Tom Brady run. Thankfully, the Jags took a swing on the Mississippi Mustache who prevented the season from being worse than it was by leading them to all of their six 2019 wins, and winning seven Pepsi Rookie of the Year awards.