Jacksonville Jaguars Fan Forums

The QB fear is real and I get it. Gabbert ruined us all on drafting a quarterback in the first round. Regardless of how we feel, it is likely we will draft a QB with the 3rd pick. Maybe Bridgewater, maybe Manziel, maybe Bortles. Probably one of the three. I see alot of people talking about the "next Gabbert" or "another Gabbert". But isn't it almost worse if the guy is "another Garrard". 

 

One of the benefits from having drafted Gabbert is we know he isn't the guy. Meanwhile in places like Tennessee, Minnesota and St Louis they are asking if their former first rounder "might" be the guy. Sounds similar to what we have with Garrard from 2008-2010. And while you wait to see if they are the guy, you end up with a Garrardian 7-9 or 8-8 record and waste the talents of the players around you on mediocre results.

I stated this in the "how to avoid Gabbert" thread, but I'll repeat it here; don't draft scared. If you set your strategy to run away from a certain type of player, Lord only knows who you may miss. Gabbert's draft class has come and gone and it has no effect on the 2014 class. There are players that will be selected in this class that will perform beyond anyone's prediction. There will also be players that won't live up to the hype, and there will be guys that do exactly what is expected of them. Happens every time.

 

You grade these players based on the attributes that they have and what they have done so far. It's the only way to get as true an evaluation as possible without bias. Just collect good players that will help your team. If one of those players is a QB, take him. If one of those players is a DE, take him. Don't worry about the next Derrick Harvey or Blaine Gabbert, just get good players.

It's called QB purgatory and it's brought up all the time around here.

I see what you're saying, but I don't agree completely. I would even go to say that with Garrard, you "knew what you had" and besides getting that big contract, with his age, where he was picked, and his average at best play we were bound to have to draft a replacement anyway. With Gabbert it wasn't right away that "we knew what had". We had to go through some growing pains and horrendous play minus the growth. This is his fourth year and some may even argue that we still do not know. Think of the QB's that have been passed up in recent drafts because we picked Gabbert a year or two earlier... Maybe they're both as bad at the same level, but in different ways.