The Jaguars have one goal and one goal only this year. That is to lose as many games as possible and secure Trevor Lawrence. Jacksonville has done everything in its power to try to lose, trading away any veteran player with value. It feels like none of it will matter. Gardner Minshew will find a way to ruin the Jags tank job.
Jacksonville thus far is 1-1 on the season. That includes a 27-20 win over the Colts and a 33-30 loss to the Titans. While they should be losing, and by large amounts, the team has stayed relatively competitive, to the surprise of many.
The AFC South is the worst division in football. The Titans are a Derrick Henry injury away from four wins. Indianapolis frankly isn’t very talented, and Philip Rivers looks shot. Then there’s Houston with Bill O’Brien as the general manager/head coach. He’s gutted the roster.
Jacksonville will also play Miami, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Cleveland. It’s not hard to win some games in the AFC. It’s going to be a hell of a lot hard to lose in the AFC compared to the NFC.
Gardner Minshew is too much of a good player to cooperate with the tank. In two starts, Minshew is completing over 75% of his throws at 7.9 yards per attempt. A 6-2 TD to INT ratio is also too damn good considering the circumstances with this team: a team that’s whose only real weapon is DJ Chark.
Minshew is never going to be a super powerful arm talent, but the guy can play. Jacksonville is not a team with a ton of talent. Minshew won’t allow this team to get the first pick, and that Jacksonville will be more competitive than everyone else thought.
The New York Giants, not the Jaguars, will end up with the first overall pick. Daniel Jones is fine, but he’s not this elite level franchise quarterback prospect. With Saquon Barkley out for the year, and New York’s horrible offensive line and dreadful defense, the Giants are almost a shoe in to land the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
