PFF Ranks Jaguars' Backup Quarterback Situation 23rd in NFL Entering 2020
No team ever wants to have to turn to its backup quarterback. Whether due to injuries, poor play from the starter or whatever reasons, the backup quarterback hitting the field spells the worst-case scenario in most events.
But as the Jacksonville Jaguars proved in 2019, the value of a serviceable backup quarterback (especially a young one) is immense. The Jaguars lost starting quarterback Nick Foles just two possessions into the season's first game, but sixth-round rookie backup quarterback Gardner Minshew stepped into his place and helped keep the Jaguars above water, becoming the only quarterback to win a game for the team in 2019.
As a result of his play, Minshew is the new starter moving forward, at least in 2020. Now, Jacksonville's backup quarterback situation figures to look vastly different than it did last year, though Josh Dobbs will return. Dobbs was Minshew's game day backup during his eight-game stint as starter after the Jaguars traded a day fifth-round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for his services.
Joining Dobbs in the backup quarterback unit will be veteran quarterback Mike Glennon and rookie sixth-rounder Jake Luton. You never know just how good a team's backup quarterback situation is until it is needed, but this year the Jaguars are bringing in a group which has a mix of youth, experience, and athleticism.
But how do the Jaguars' backups stack up vs. the rest of the league? In a league-wide ranking of each team's backup quarterback situation, Pro Football Focus determined the Jaguars have just the 23rd best backup quarterback room in the league, the second-lowest ranked team in the divison.
"Glennon has a career 36:20 TD:INT ratio, but largely hasn’t demonstrated anything resembling even average QB play since a good-not-great rookie campaign back in 2013," PFF wrote. "Pit stops in Chicago, Arizona and Oakland precluded the Jaguars giving the giraffe veteran QB a chance to backup Gardner Minshew. Don’t expect Glennon, Dobbs or Luton to engineer anything resembling a decent offense if the Jaguars are forced to dig deep in 2020."
Considering Dobbs has thrown just 12 passes in five games since being drafted in 2017 and Luton is just a rookie, it isn't hard to argue that the only evidence in which to base any opinion of Jacksonville's backup quarterbacks is Glennon's career.
In his seven-year career, he has completed 488 of 801 passes (60.9 comp. pct.) for 5,163 yards and 36 TDs. In 2019 with the Raiders, he saw action in two games and completed six passes for 56 yards and one TD.
Glennon played in 19 games (18 starts) in his first two seasons with Tampa Bay and threw for 4,025 yards and 29 TDs, including 2,608 yards and 19 TDs as a rookie in 2013. He was the first rookie in NFL history to throw for at least one TD in each of his first eight career starts and was just the fourth rookie in NFL history to post two games with a passer rating of 137.0 or higher.
"For me, there is a comfort level that comes into having a veteran presence in that room with the young guys that we have, you know, with Gardner, and Dobbs, and with Jake now," head coach Doug Marrone told local media after the seam signed Glennon in May. "I feel real comfortable about where Jay is as the coordinator and a former quarterback, and Ben, as far as their knowledge and things of that nature. But I always think there is a part of learning that occurs outside of your coaches, you know, with the people who are around you."
The Jaguars shook up the quarterback room a decent bit before signing Glennon, with the Foles trade and the drafting of Luton in the sixth-round the major moves. The plan has always been for Minshew to start, especially since Foles was traded. But, as Marrone noted, there are other things the team wanted to add at the position.
"Having a good background with him and speaking with Jay and speaking with Ben, I really feel that he is going to help our football team in a lot of different ways," Marrone said about Glennon.
"I wasn't trying to hide anything. I was trying to make sure that we were going to, if we didn't do something maybe early in the draft, that we were going to get some type of veteran presence in there."
If Minshew goes down, it is hard envisioning Jacksonville being able to put forth a worthwhile offense. Glennon has proved he simply isn't a starter-level passer in the NFL, and Dobbs and Luton are ultimate unknowns at this point.
The Jaguars got lucky with their rookie quarterback situation last year, but it would be a rather large surprise to see the results duplicate in 2020.
