One of the biggest surprises of the NFL season has been the career revival of Uncle Rico, who was last seen tossing football clear over some mountains and living out of his strange van.
But in all seriousness, the arrival of sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew on the scene has been an unexpected and fun twist to the 2019 season, especially for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were in desperate need of a franchise quarterback.
Not to mention that Minshew is an extremely confident quote machine, which he exhibited again on Monday when asked how he felt about putting up “similar” numbers to New York Giants QB Daniel Jones, Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray and Washington Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins.
“Better,” Minshew said after a moment of chewing on the question. “Better numbers.”
Minshew finished his rookie season throwing for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 42.9 QBR while completing 60.6% of his passes. The 3,271 yards were second to only Murray (3,722) and the 21 touchdowns were second to only Jones (24), while his six interceptions were fewest among all rookie quarterbacks.
Comparatively, Jones finished the season with 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 53.9 QBR while completing 61.9% of his passes. He also missed two games as the result of a high-ankle sprain.
Ultimately, however, Minshew won the most games.
“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 added. “You can’t help but compare yourself to those guys, especially when they get taken before you.”
There’s little doubt Minshew played exceptionally well in 2019, but it’s clear that Jones and the other first-round rookies have more of an upside long-term.
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