Jacksonville Jaguars: Gardner Minshew impresses in relief of Nick Foles

The Jacksonville Jaguars turned to rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew after Nick Foles went down with an injury. Somewhat surprisingly, Minshew looked great and may have an opportunity to keep the job.

The Jacksonville Jaguars took a tough loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Not only did Patrick Mahomes and company cruise to a 40-26 victory over the Jags, but Jacksonville also lost starting quarterback Nick Foles for the foreseeable future.

Foles started the game hot but suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter. We later learned that  Foles suffered a broken clavicle and will be out for an extended period of time.

When Foles went down against the Chiefs, the Jacksonville Jaguars turned to rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew. In relief of Foles, Minshew, a sixth-round pick out of Washington State, completed 22-of-25 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw an interception late in the game.

Minshew came out firing for the Jags, completing his first 13 passes of the game. He was not afraid of the moment and made sure to make the most out of his opportunity right away.

Minshew looked calm and under control in the pocket. He showed off his impressive arm strength and was incredibly accurate with the ball all afternoon. The Jaguars rookie also showed some nice mobility and overall playmaking skills outside the pocket.

As an NFL draft prospect, Minshew showed some promise. He has the arm talent to make all of the throws on and NFL football field. He throws a pretty and accurate deep ball while also showing the velocity needed to fit balls into tight coverage. In college, Minshew also showed some nice decision-making skills and understood how to read coverages well.

However, Minshew was a sixth-round pick for a reason. The major issue with his game as he entered the league was his lack of consistent accuracy. Minshew was an extremely erratic passer in college who struggled to consistently hit his targets. He also struggled when trying to put the proper touch on the ball, commonly missing his targets when the pass requires finesse instead of power.

Despite his obvious issues as a passer in college, Minshew was deadly accurate on Sunday. I am excited to dig deeper into this game later in the week because Minshew simply did not look like the guy who I remember watching in college.

The talent is certainly there so if Minshew has made significant improvements as a finesse passer, he could certainly be an interesting player going forward. Foles will likely still be the starting quarterback for the Jags whenever he is ready to return, but Minshew has a rare opportunity to establish himself as a legitimate NFL quarterback.

Most late-round quarterbacks do not get this kind of an opportunity. Will he be able to make the most out of it? It is going to be interesting to find out.