Grading the Roster - Quarterbacks

[pwny]

Going to start with a special edition of this, with an additional question

 

How good is our QB room right now?

• Gardner Minshew
• Jake Luton

Are there any of these players that should be let go or traded?

Are there any pending Free Agents at the position that you would like to see come back?

• Mike Glennon — UFA

 

And for a question that will only be present on the Quarterbacks:

How good will out QB room be when Trevor Lawrence's name is called in late April?

 

 

Other questions to consider answering:

Who would you make the starter(s)? Who is the best back up? If a starter went out for any real amount of time, would the backup be able to perform well enough to keep the team on track? Do you expect growth, decline, or similar play out of the players at this position?

 

And a special mention of @Uncle Buck for hopping on this thread idea a day before I was ready to roll it out. lol

[.Buzz]

F to an A imo. 

Minshew is probably going to be a good backup in this league for a long time, but that's all he is imo. 

A may be a tad much considering Lawrence hasn't played a snap, but man I'm drinking the teal kool aid with him/our future with him under center.

Think we need to go outside the current roster for a vet backup.

[JiffyJag]

I'd say right now we're at a D-  Minshew is a top tier backup/low tier starter, we could theoretically do worse, but Luton is largely without value. Pretty bad all around.

With Trevor, we're at a B+. I'm not sure if Minshew is the best backup option for an offense based around Trevor's strengths, and I'd rather have a mentor figure as a backup than a guy who still has aspirations of being a starter in the league. But finding the perfect backup is probably a tall ask.

Once we have Trevor, we're in a good place. 

[Charles]

D to A imo.  I can't give Minshew an F....he did win six games as a rookie.

I'm all in on Lawrence.   We deserve this.

No question in my mind that Lawrence is the starter from day 1.  Not sure who is available, but I'd like to seem them bring in a vet who has embraced the backup roll instead of someone who still views himself as starting caliber.  

-charles

[pwny]

I think as constructed, the QBs are somewhere between a D and F. I was never really in on the Minshew Mania, so even his rookie highs, I don't view as all that great. He's a fringe starter type that can bridge you to your future guy, maybe. Basically what he's done so far. He's a solid priced backup that's hard to beat value per dollar, but I also think that might mean some other team is willing to part with something to get him, in which case I would strongly consider it.

I'm not ready to anoint Trevor an A grade NFL player yet, but I think kinda in that B/B+ range as a rookie is the place to be, and it's obviously one that in the future over the next 15 years, I expect to be an A. I just can't grade him an A for the 2021 season. He'll be the odds on favorites to win Rookie of the Year. 

 

I agree that outside of the team is where a veteran team needs to come from if the team finds somewhere else. I don't think the team gets very far if we have to go to a backup currently on the roster. 

 

Jake Luton is completely expendable. But also with the team as constructed, maybe you just keep him there with the expectation that if the team has to go to a backup, the season is sunk anyway so you might as well sink it all the way for the draft pick. But I can't see Urban actually doing that.

[JaguarCrazy2832]

Really its a D....maybe a D- just because GM is a serviceable backup for cheap. 

Its tough to grade with the addition of Lawrence because in a way its an A...because getting him means there is no real competition coming in, we aren't thinking about a replacement at all and if we're grading these as a means to reverse contract needs with Fs being the highest and As being the lowest he would make us an A

[Uncle Buck]

My thread on this must subject disappeared, so I guess I'll just follow these.

I'm not an expert on the previous Jaguar quarterbacks, but I think Minshew has more promise than you guys are giving him credit for.  He needs experience, and a better supporting cast.  In spite of what he had here, he actually put up pretty respectable numbers.  If we didn't have the #1 overall pick, I'd be lobbying for the Jags to stick with Gardner and trade down for a bounty of picks to rebuild the rest of the team. 

One thing I like about Minshew is that he seems to have the self confidence required to become a good quarterback in this league.  He has that "it" that they always talk about.  While I'd love to keep him around as a backup, I wouldn't be opposed to trading him if we could get a low 2nd or high 3rd round pick for him.  It sounds like he would like to be a starter, so it probably isn't fair to keep him from pursuing that goal - especially when he did fairly well for the first 2 years of his career under less than ideal circumstances here in Jacksonville.

As far as a grade is concerned, I'd give him about a "C".  There are better QB's out there, but there are worse ones too.

The rest of the QB's on this roster are pretty much bottom of the barrel with little upside.  D-

As far as Trevor is concerned, I'll just give him an "Incomplete" grade because he hasn't even been drafted yet.  His ceiling is unlimited - multiple Pro Bowls, All-Pro, Hall of Fame, among the best who ever played the game.  I know he is supposedly "unproven," but did anyone who saw LeBron James play basketball in high school really think there was much chance of him becoming a bust in the NBA?  I know I sure didn't.  I'd say Trevor Lawrence is on that level when it comes to being an NFL quarterback.

When it comes to grading the Jaguars "QB Room", I'd say that it is a complete bust without Gardner Minshew.  At this point in his career, he can only elevate what we have to a "D".

With the addition of Trevor Lawrence, I am going to be optimistic and give the QB room an "A".  The reason for that is because we will be one of only a handful of teams in the league who actually have a quarterback who is (or at least could be) truly elite.  That alone puts us at an "A".

Edited February 13, 2021 by Uncle Buck

[Tugboat]

On 2/11/2021 at 12:13 PM, Jaguarfan said:

I'd say right now we're at a D-  Minshew is a top tier backup/low tier starter, we could theoretically do worse, but Luton is largely without value. Pretty bad all around.

With Trevor, we're at a B+. I'm not sure if Minshew is the best backup option for an offense based around Trevor's strengths, and I'd rather have a mentor figure as a backup than a guy who still has aspirations of being a starter in the league. But finding the perfect backup is probably a tall ask.

Once we have Trevor, we're in a good place. 

Yeah.  This is more or less how i'd look at it.  It's a sorta multi-faceted scenario to "grade" collectively.

 

If we were to go into the season with Minshew and Luton, that's an outright F.  It'd be patently unacceptable in absolutely every single way.  But that doesn't mean Minshew is completely without value, or a terrible QB.  He's capable of being at least a very high-end backup.  It'd just be an automatic F, because we've already gone down that road and it leads us absolutely nowhere.

 

Adding Lawrence to the mix...i struggle to really call that a straight up instant "A", because the guy hasn't played a single NFL snap.  But i'll call it a "transitional A".  Or an A* with an asterisk.  It's undeniably an "A" in terms of clearly, beyond any shadow of a doubt...moving in the right direction, in a truly exciting way.

The point regarding Minshew as a backup specifically for Lawrence is a good one as well though.  Hard to really factor in what that does to the overall, collective "QB Room" grade...which rightfully, should be very heavily skewed in weighting toward the "starter".  But i would feel more confident and comfortable, and satisfied overall really...going into next season with a savvy veteran "clipboard holder extraordinaire" who truly knows his role and is there more to support Lawrence in his development, rather than trying to/aspiring to still claw his way to a potential starting job (a la Minshew's situation).

Luton is basically a non-factor.  He can kick around, or kick rocks for all i care.  The only impact he can potentially have on the QB room grade for me, is if he's somehow the sole backup.  Which would drag things down, because i don't see it as constructive to have a bad, still very much "developing" backup...as the only other guy in the room for a rookie like Lawrence to lean on.  It should be a guy with a level of competence Luton hasn't demonstrated as a Pro, and with some actual life experience, and experience in what being a true NFL Pro QB is all about.

 

So...F without Lawrence.  A* with Lawrence, and a vet clipboard guy.  A*** with Lawrence, and no vet clipboard guy.