While Gardner Minshew II has his share of skeptical critics, he also has some who want to see if he’s the real deal or not. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah is certainly a name that has been banging the drum for Minshew to get another shot after his 2019 success.
In an interview with Jaguars.com’s J.P. Shadrick, he reiterated those statements and explained what the scenario in his latest mock would do for Minshew as he had the Jags adding two offensive players in Round 1.
“I think this year is about getting a good evaluation on Gardner Minshew,” Jeremiah said. “Can he build off of last year, which was impressive and show he can be the guy going forward? That will really free this franchise up to be able to spend money in free agency and other positions, fix the defense, use your resources in next year’s draft and really take care of that side of the ball.”
Afterward, Jeremiah stressed something we’ve mentioned on Jags Wire: Taking a left tackle early in the draft would kill two needs. For Jeremiah, the tackle he slotted to Jacksonville in his mock was Louisville’s Mekhi Becton and added that he’d allow Cam Robinson to play guard.
Afterward, he stated that the Jags could then use the No. 20 pick to get a pass-catcher, which would also help Minshew and let the Jags know whether he’s the guy going forward. In his latest mock, that pass catcher was Justin Jefferson of Louisiana State, a player who I also mocked to the Jags at pick No. 20.
While I believe taking an elite defender like Derrick Brown at No. 9 would work wonders for the Jags’ in the trenches, Jeremiah’s logic certainly isn’t wrong. The Jags’ offense will likely have to lead the team anyway due to the defense being so depleted, so why not make the unit as high-powered as possible?
