Upon trading veteran quarterback Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears this offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars formally turned the reins over to second-year signal caller Gardner Minshew II. However, despite the fact that the 2020 campaign remains quite far away, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone is already expecting an uptick in production from Minshew, who is currently gearing up for his first full season as a NFL starting quarterback.
“Obviously, we want to see a big jump,” Marrone recently said, via the team's official website. “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 who has a lot of potential. We’ve got to make sure everyone around him is doing their job and doing it at a high level.”
The Jaguars originally selected the former Washington State signal caller in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft while Minshew then finished his rookie season at an even 6-6 as Jacjsoinville's starter under center.
“When Phase 1 [of the offseason program] actually opens up, then we’ll be able to get our players material that they need,” the aforementioned Marrone added. “Obviously, there are going to be some new things that we’re going to have to learn.
“Gardner works at a very high level, so I’m not concerned about that. He’s working extremely hard. He’s doing everything he can [right now]. I think we’ve just got to get him in here and start practicing at some point and see what he can do as far as with him and Jay and the system – and what he likes, what we’ve got to get him better at, improve at, then really work him on the things he did well – and really fine tune a lot of those things.”
Last season, the Jaguars finished the year in last place in the AFC South division at a disappointing 6-10. As a result, though, Jacksonville does currently own the No. 9 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
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