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.