While the Jacksonville Jaguars have yet to crown anyone their QB1, there is little doubt that it will be No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence. If that happens, the Jags would be put in a situation where they would have one of the better backups in the league in Gardner Minshew II, that is, if he remains on the roster.
Since being drafted in 2019, Minshew has started in 20 games, and in the early stages of his career, he had many wondering if he was starter material. Long story short, the Jags figured out his flaws and limitations last season when he started in eight games, despite him having to miss time with a hand injury.
Still, even with Minshew proving to be more of a No. 2 quarterback, he’s also garnered the respect of the national media, including the respect of CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin. In his rankings of top backup quarterbacks, Benjamin ranked Minshew 10th, placing him above notables like Taysom Hill and Mitchell Trubisky.
10. Gardner Minshew (Jaguars)
He doesn’t have the physical skill set to rival other QBs, and you might rather have somebody like Taysom Hill to keep defenses off guard, but Minshew has never lacked poise. Look at the numbers he put up in Jacksonville. He’ll stick around for a while.
Some of the notables ranked ahead of Minshew included Marcus Mariota and Tyrod Taylor, and some unproven players like Mac Jones.
As for Minshew, his performance over the last two years has been enough to cause teams to call about a trade, though the Jags announced that they weren’t looking to move him on March 19. Since, he’s continued on by having a decent showing in the spring, which may make it even harder for the Jags’ coaches to let him go.
In terms of Benjamin’s rankings, the argument could be made that Minshew could’ve probably been slotted closer to the top-5, but tenth still isn’t that far off the mark. The bigger question will be whether the Jags have the luxury of keeping him behind Lawrence as a team could come calling in terms of a trade. If the compensation is a fourth-round pick or higher the Jags would have something to think about, but for now, it appears they want him on the roster for training camp.
