Jaguars Entering 2020 With Third-Cheapest QB, RB and WR Trio

According to Spotrac, only three teams have a cheaper trio of starting quarterback, running back and wide receiver than the Jaguars will have in 2020.

Few teams are entering the 2020 season with a more cost-controlled group of skill players on offense than the Jacksonville Jaguars. When looking at how Jacksonville has divided its money across the offense, three of the four highest-paid players are offensive linemen (Andrew Norwell, Brandon Linder, A.J. Cann), while the rest of the offense is on smaller deals. 

The biggest reason for this? The fact that most of Jacksonville's offensive roster is either on rookie contracts or are journeyman veterans on cheaper deals. In fact, the Jaguars' money is being spent on offense skill players at a lower rate than nearly every other team in the NFL.

According to Spotrac, the Jaguars have the third-cheapest No. 1 quarterback/No. 1 running back/No. 1 wide receiver trio in the NFL in terms of 2020 cap allocated with Jacksonville spending just $10.5 million on Gardner Minshew II, Leonard Fournette and DJ Chark. 

The only teams spending less on their top offensive trio are the Denver Broncos' trio of Drew Lock, Melvin Gordon and Courtland Sutton ($10.4 million) and Washington's pairing of Dwayne Haskins, Adrian Peterson and Terry McLaurin ($7.4 million). 

Each of Jacksonville's three leading skill players are on rookie contracts so it makes sense why the Jaguars are so low on this ranking. The player with the highest 2020 cap hit is Fournette, a former top-4 pick who is due $8,638,907 in 2020. Meanwhile Chark, a former second-rounder, is due $1,212,881. Finally, Minshew, a sixth-round pick in 2019, is due just $722,721 next year. 

Minshew's low-paying contract is the largest reason the Jaguars are on this list as it offsets Fournette's solid 2020 salary. Minshew is the 77th highest-paid quarterback in 2020 in terms of cap hit, and only the third-highest paid quarterback on Jacksonville's roster according to Spotrac, trailing both Mike Glennon and Josh Dobbs. 

Minshew taking over for the formerly high-paid Nick Foles is another big reason the Jaguars are as low on this list as they are. Not only are the Jaguars set to be among the youngest teams in the entire NFL next season, but they are set to be among the most cost-controlled offenses as well, which could prevent its own series of challenges to the offense and its 2020 fortunes. 

Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts have the fifth highest-paid trio, the Tennessee Titans have the ninth highest-paid trio and the Houston Texans have the 23rd highest-paid trio.