[brid autoplay=”true” video=”843885″ player=”23231″ title=”5%20rookie%20quarterbacks%20take%20center%20stage%20in%20NFL%20preseason%20debuts” duration=”undefined” description=”The five first-round rookie quarterbacks from the 2021 NFL Draft will make their preseason debuts this week. For the league, it’s rather clear that they are focusing on these young signal-callers during otherwise meaningless exhibition action.” uploaddate=”2021-08-11″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/thumb/843885_t_1628700005.png” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/sd/843885.mp4″]
The expectation all along has been that rookie No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence will be the Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback once the regular season opens.
Despite this, Gardner Minshew has seemingly given the former Clemson star a run for his money during training camp.
How much? The Jaguars released their first unofficial depth chart of the preseason leading up to the opener against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. In said depth chart, the quarterback position is simply listed “Gardner Minshew (or) Trevor Lawrence.”
There’s not a whole lot we should read into this. First-year head coach Urban Meyer has been consistent in indicating that the starting job won’t be handed to Lawrence. Meanwhile, Minshew has performed well after two pretty darn solid seasons to open his NFL career.
Jacksonville Jaguars plans with Trevor Lawrence
There’s a reason why Jacksonville has had Minshew on the trade block since before it selected Lawrence with the first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The team views the rookie No. 1 pick as a franchise-type guy. Even then, Meyer simply is not going to hand QB1 to the former Clemson standout.
“What makes Tom Brady the greatest quarterback of all time is he finds ways to win,” Meyer told NFL Media (h/t Jaguars Wire) recently. “Whether he’s a Buccaneer or with the New England Patriots, he finds a way to win. I’ve had quarterbacks like that — they win. I don’t know if we’re going to tell in a year. He (Lawrence) throws a nice ball, that makes him one of about 60 to 70 quarterbacks. Does he win games?”
This seems to be more about Meyer getting Lawrence’s attention than anything else. Dating back to his college days with Utah, Florida and Ohio State, the longtime head coach has been all about competition. That didn’t change the minute he took over the job in Duval.
None of this is to say that Trevor Lawrence has struggled during training camp. All reports are that he’s looked darn good. That’s to be expected from a generational quarterback prospect.
Regardless, an otherwise meaningless preseason depth chart adds to the conversation in Jacksonville with the team set to open its preseason in a few days.
As for the remainder of the depth chart, 2020 top-10 pick C.J. Henderson is listed among third-team cornerbacks. There’s been rumors about a potential trade involving the young defensive back. That might be more telling than where Minshew and Lawrence stand on the depth chart in mid-August.