Cook’s Top 5: Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterbacks

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t exactly had a who’s who at the Quarterback position, but Steve Cook is a man on a mission and has their (and your) Top 5!

What can you say about the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Seriously, help me out here. If it wasn’t for the Jaguars being owned by the same family that owns the #2 wrestling company in North America, and the fact they got to draft Trevor Lawrence, I’d have nothing interesting to say about this franchise. A nothing-happening team in a not-much-happening city in a not-much-happening division. Let’s be honest, the last few years of this team have served as a cure for insomnia.

Nevertheless, we have reached their spot in the alphabet, so it’s time to talk about their best quarterbacks. Most of who wouldn’t stand a chance of making a list for any other franchise. Maybe the Texans. I’m just warning you guys for what’s to follow here.

5. Gardner Minshew II

Minshew was drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft as kind of an afterthought. He wasn’t one of the more well-regarded quarterbacks of the class, but he got a chance to prove himself right away when Nick Foles got injured in Week 1. He ended up attaining the highest pass completion percentage in a single game in Jaguars history in his first game. Not bad. There were a couple of duds in there, but for the most part Minshew held his own until getting replaced upon Foles’ return in Week 10. Then Foles got benched during Week 12 & Minshew got the starts the rest of the season.

In 2020, Minshew started the season as QB1, and led the Jaguars to a big win in Week 1 over the Colts. That was the last game they won that season, and the odds of Minshew starting another game for the Jags aren’t great. However, he will live on through his wonderful hairstyles & fashion sense.

4. Byron Leftwich

Leftwich was taken by the Jags with the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. The Jags didn’t originally have the seventh overall pick, but an attempted trade between the Ravens (who wanted to acquire the pick to take Leftwich) & the Vikings fell through, and in the confusion the Vikings went over their allotted time to pick. They fell back behind the Jaguars, who jumped on the chance to take Leftwich, who had gained national attention during his time at Marshall University due to their placement in Tuesday & Wednesday night football games on ESPN.

Leftwich’s college success didn’t translate to the pros. It looked like he was heading in the right direction in 2005 with 15 touchdowns versus only 5 interceptions, but he got injured in Week 12 and came back in time to lose the Jags’ wild card playoff game. 2006 saw him get benched for David Garrard, and that was pretty much it for Leftwich as an NFL starter. He retired after the 2012 season and has become a successful offensive coordinator under Bruce Arians, first in Arizona and now in Tampa Bay.

3. Blake Bortles

The Jaguars kept it local when they took the UCF quarterback with the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Many experts were somewhat skeptical, but it seemed like for a minute that it might actually work. Bortles’ 4,428 passing yards & 35 touchdown passes in 2015 are currently franchise season records. His 18 interceptions that season led the league though, and Bortles developed a reputation for throwing INTs at inopportune moments.

Bortles was the quarterback when the 2017 Jaguars won the AFC South & went to the AFC Championship Game, which feels like it happened about thirty years ago. What seemed like the start of a return to relevance for a franchise that hadn’t seen the postseason in a decade ended up being a blip on the radar. Bortles left after a disappointing 2018 season, and is still looking for a Good Place to be a starting quarterback again.

2. David Garrard

Garrard was drafted back in 2002 in the fourth round and just kinda chilled for a couple of years there. Tom Coughlin drafted him as the heir apparent to Mark Brunell, but he got fired and new management had new ideas that involved drafting Byron Leftwich. In 2004 he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and had a foot of intestine removed. So when he eventually got a chance to start for the Jaguars, he wasn’t exactly intimidated by the situation. After Leftwich was injured in Week 12 in 2005, Garrard & the Jaguars went 5-1 to clinch a playoff berth. 2006 saw him named starter in Week 8 after Leftwich struggled, and the Jags went on a 5-2 run before falling apart in the last three weeks of the season.

2007 was a step up though, and the Jaguars won 11 games & earned a playoff spot. Things trended downward after that, though Garrard did make a Pro Bowl appearance in 2009 & had a solid season in 2010 as well. However, Jacksonville saw their future in Blaine Gabbert. That didn’t go well for either party, as Gabbert was pretty bad for the Jags while Garrard never played another game due to knee problems.

1. Mark Brunell

Brunell was the first player the Jags ever traded for, as they sent Green Bay two draft picks for him during the 1995 NFL Draft. He was expected to back up Steve Beuerlein, but an MCL injury put Beuerlein on the shelf & Brunell in the starting role. Brunell steadily improved as 1995 went on, but 1996 was the arrival on the main stage for him & the Jaguars. In only their second season of existence, the Jags made a run to the AFC Championship Game. Brunell led the NFL with 4,367 yards and got his first of three Pro Bowl selections.

The Jaguars won double-digit games three straight seasons from 1997-99 and became the first expansion team to make the playoffs four out of its first five seasons. Once the 2000s arrived, Jacksonville began to trend downward, and while Brunell was still productive, he wasn’t the elite passer he showed flashes of being early on. He was replaced by Byron Leftwich early in the 2003 season, and moved on to Washington to be part of their quarterback menagerie.

The Jaguars & their fan are hoping that they’ve finally found the man to move Brunell down a spot on this list.

Thanks for reading! Join us next time when we look at the Kansas City Chiefs!