(10-07-2020, 09:50 AM)Kane Wrote:

(10-07-2020, 09:48 AM)CanDoBetter Wrote: It could be worse. We could have drafted Haskins...

Which quite a few fans wanted to.

Yes, I looked back at the Board's comments about Haskins before the draft. The majority of people loved him and thought he could become a franchise quarterback. This goes to show how difficult it is to find such a player. In reality, how many truly great quarterbacks are there- the guys who can lead their teams to the playoffs year after year despite having an average supporting cast? In the past 10 years, the guys that come to mind are Brady, Manning, Mahomes, Wilson, Brees and Big Ben. It is quite possible that Burrow and Lamar Jackson will eventually belong on this list. I'm probably leaving someone out, but that's a very small number. Andrew Luck, as good as he was, did not win a Super Bowl. 

Minshew will never become great like the players listed above. However, he has the rest of this year to show that he is "good enough" to win consistently as long as he has a good supporting cast. The only quarterback in the next draft worth taking with a top 5 pick right now is Lawrence. That would be a no brainer. Fields may also be worth it, but that remains to be seen depending on his performance this season for Ohio State. As it stands today, I'd rather the Jaguars focus the off-season on strengthening the rest of the team. They are fortunate to likely have 4 draft picks in the top 40 and 5 in the top 70. They will have a ton of cap money to acquire at least 2 additional solid players. Will that be enough to compete for the playoffs next season with Minshew at quarterback? That will depend on the development of guys like Chaisson, Josh Jones, Henderson, Bartch and Davon Hamilton. If these 5 become the players they envisioned when they acquired them, I believe the answer is "yes". Chark, Jack, Shennault, Schobert, both Robinsons, Taylor and Linder have already proven they are good players (Cam has improved this season and hopefully isn't hurt too badly). That would mean there is a nucleus of 13 players prior to the off-season. Focus this off-season on improving the defensive line and secondary, add in a difference making tight end like Pitts or Freirmuth and the future should be bright. If Blake Bortles came one bad call away from leading a team to the Super Bowl, Minshew can also- as long as these other pieces come together.

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