What is the State of the Jaguars’ Quarterback Room Ahead of the Draft?
In only a few weeks, the 2020 NFL Draft will at last commence. This year's draft will obviously be dramatically different due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced the draft to become a completely virtual event. But nonetheless, the show marches on.
While we gear up in preparation for the draft, we will be looking at each position group on the Jaguars' roster to gauge where it stands before this month's draft. Which groups need more attention, and which appear to be set?
In this edition, we take a look at the Jaguars' quarterback position and determine if the Jaguars are likely to add to the position with one of their draft picks or with an additional free agency signing.
What the Jaguars have said about the group
“Well, I think obviously we want to see a big jump. Right now, we’re at a time where, again, we’re still in the dead period, so until phase one actually opens up, then we’ll be able to get our players the materials that they need. Obviously, it’s going to be some new things that we’re going to have to learn, but Gardner has always been … He works at a really high level, so I’m not concerned about that," head coach Doug Marrone said on March 31.
"We’re excited for him. It’s a great opportunity. He’s not going to change the way he is; he’s a hard-working kid and he’s got a lot of potential, and we have to make sure that everyone around him is doing their job and doing it at a high level.”
"For what Gardner did last year as a rookie, I think was very impressive. He won six games and was .500 in the games he started – 20-plus touchdowns, low interception rate. It felt like he had probably the best stats of any rookie quarterback last year," general manager Dave Caldwell said at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Who the Jaguars have lost in 2020:
The Jaguars had three active quarterbacks for on the roster for the majority of 2019 with Gardner Minshew II, Nick Foles, and Josh Dobbs, who the team traded a fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for. Presently, the quarterback room looks a lot like it did then, with one notable exception: Foles.
The former Super Bowl MVP with the Philadelphia Eagles signed a massive four-year, $88 million deal with Jacksonville in March 2019, but he ended up playing in only four games for the franchise before the Jaguars traded him to the Chicago Bears for a 2020 fourth-round pick in March.
Foles was the veteran presence in the Jaguars' quarterback room, but his tenure with the Jaguars resulted in a lost season in which he played 11 quarters, attempted 117 passes, and never played a second half snap at TIAA Bank Field. He went down with a clavicle injury in the first quarter of Week 1, which led to him having surgery and being placed on injured reserve for the next eight games, which opened the door for Minshew to prove himself as a starter.
Foles would return in Week 11, but his return to the top of the ladder in the Jaguars' quarterback room was short-lived as he was benched for Minshew at halftime of Week 13 and never played another snap for the Jaguars.
Who the Jaguars currently have at the position:
Gardner Minshew II: 23-years-old, 12 career starts. Entering second season. Threw for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 60.6% of his passes, with 7.0 yards per attempt in 2019.
Josh Dobbs: 25-years-old, zero career starts. Entering fourth season. Has thrown for 43 yards and completed 50% of passes in his career.
The Jaguars' quarterback room is young, with neither quarterback being older than 25, and relatively inexperienced, with only 12 career starts and four combined completed seasons between the two of them. While Foles played poorly in his limited starts in 2019, he at least had some sort of track record at the NFL level and could lean on his experience, which is no longer the case for the Jaguars.
What the Jaguars do now have at quarterback, however, are two cost-controlled options who are more athletic signal-callers than Foles. Minshew thrives when plays break down and he is able to use his feet to maneuver in and out of the pocket, while Dobbs has been known as a solid athlete for the position dating back to his college days at Tennessee. This could give new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden a lot to work with in terms of how he schemes his protections and play-action plays.
But while Minshew had an encouraging 2019 and the Jaguars appear to be high on Dobbs, there is an argument to be made that the Jaguars still have serious questions at the position. Minshew is enticing but still relatively unproven after an up-and-down 2019, and it remains to be seen how committed the Jaguars are to building around him.
Despite that, the Jaguars trading Foles before he could even enter into a 2020 competition with Minshew is telling. The Jaguars were clearly willing to move on from Foles in a post-Tom Coughlin era in large part due to the presence of Minshew, and it is unlikely the move would have been made if Minshew wasn't so encouraging in 2019.
The Jaguars make sense as a landing spot for free agent quarterback Cam Newton or Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton if the Bengals release him since both quarterbacks are experienced and prove starters who could also fill out roles as backups. If the Jaguars want a more veteran presence at either starting quarterback or the backup position, the options are available to them.
Jacksonville could also be a candidate to select a quarterback with one of their two first-round picks on April 23 (No. 9 and No. 20), but it is hard to make an argument for Utah State's Jordan Love or Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa since neither projects as a high-impact player in 2020.
The Jaguars have questions at quarterback, but it is likely that the short-term answer is already on the roster in Minshew. Jacksonville could always shake things up, but they appear confident in Minshew and Dobbs as their quarterback room.
