The Jacksonville Jaguars made a wildly controversial decision to sign former first-round quarterback Tim Tebow to a one-year free agent contract to compete at their offseason camp at the tight end position after a couple of allegedly impressive workouts. Tebow has been out of the game for eight years and while he’s obviously not “let himself go” by any means, it’s fair to at least wonder — how is this going to work out?
In just 23 games with the Denver Broncos (2010-11), Tebow threw 17 touchdown passes and ran for 12 more. Including the postseason, Tebow played 25 games with the Broncos and finished with 32 total touchdowns in those games (19 passing, 13 rushing), throwing in a few crazy fourth-quarter comebacks, two-point conversions, and some of the craziest finishes to games any NFL fan will probably see in their lifetime.
Again, that was all a decade ago.
When he was coming into the NFL, many figured that Tebow should make a transition to the tight end position anyway, so better late than never, I guess?
Tebow obviously has friends in high places in Jacksonville. He’s a hometown hero who is already leading the league in offseason jersey sales. Urban Meyer was Tebow’s coach at Florida and those two are obviously very close.
Tim Tebow didn’t get a multi-year deal with the Jaguars. His contract doesn’t even have guarantees in it, so he’s truly what we call a “camp body”. With that being said, when you pull up the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster, you’ll notice that Tim Tebow is joining a position group that is rather thin.
If he’s going to take someone’s job, whose job is he actually taking?
James O’Shaughnessy
2020 snaps: 466 (45 percent)
In all my time here with NFL Mocks, I may have written about James O’Shaughnessy one other time before. I am erring on the side of caution by saying this is literally the first time I’ve ever written about him, but it very well may be.
Why do I say that?
O’Shaughnessy is the grizzled veteran of this Jacksonville Jaguars tight end group that Tim Tebow is competing in.
In 73 career games, O’Shaughnessy has caught 88 passes with three touchdowns and is coming off of a year in which he set a career mark with 28 receptions as the TE2 in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars’ TE1 last season was veteran Tyler Eifert, who is still a free agent right now.
O’Shaughnessy will likely open camp as the Jaguars’ TE1 or TE2 and with the way things are presently constructed, it would be a borderline shocker if he was not on the roster at Tebow’s expense to open the season.
Tim Tebow won’t likely be taking O’Shaughnessy’s job, but you can see where this is going if this is Jacksonville’s top option (or one of the top two) at the position right now.
Chris Manhertz
2020 snap counts: 503 (49 percent, Carolina)
In terms of financials, Chris Manhertz is the player at tight end the Jacksonville Jaguars have the most invested in.
They gave the former Carolina Panthers tight end a two-year contract in free agency worth $6.65 million total and $4.25 million guaranteed at signing.
That’s not a bad chunk of change for Manhertz, considering he has 12 career receptions since coming into the league as an undrafted player back in 2014.
Where the 6-foot-6, 255-pound Manhertz is making his money? As a blocker.
That should go without saying given the fact that he has just 12 career catches, but again, the top of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ depth chart at tight end is not exactly riveting or lighting up fantasy football draft boards.
O’Shaughnessy and Manhertz have proven themselves to be serviceable players at the position in the league and you can likely lock in both players for roster spots in 2021.
Luke Farrell
The Jacksonville Jaguars used a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on former Ohio State tight end Luke Farrell, speaking of having friends in high places.
Farrell obviously knows Urban Meyer from Meyer’s time at Ohio State, but he proved himself worthy to be drafted as a blocker in his time with the Buckeyes.
He may have been drafted a couple of rounds early, but he was draftable, nonetheless.
In four seasons at Ohio State, Farrell played in 21 total games and had 34 receptions for 380 yards and four touchdowns.
Limited as an athlete, Farrell is going to have to make the Jaguars doing what he does best — blocking — while being a safety valve in the passing game.
At 6-foot-5, 251 pounds, Farrell ran a 4.81 in the 40-yard dash and had a really solid 36.5-inch vertical jump and 22 bench press reps.
Farrell will find a roster spot in Jacksonville in all likelihood, and given the depth chart’s current status, he could see quite a bit of playing time.
The Rest
Tyler Davis
The Jaguars drafted Davis in the 6th-round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The former Georgia Tech tight end played in eight games with 40 offensive snaps and 76 special teams snaps.
He’s facing an uphill battle to make the roster regardless of Tim Tebow’s presence or not.
Ben Ellefson
A former undrafted player out of North Dakota State, Ben Ellefson played 133 offensive snaps last year in addition to 63 special teams snaps. He actually caught a pass among his 133 offensive snaps played unlike his fellow 2020 classmate Davis, and playing more than three times the amount of snaps, he would likely have the edge as the TE3 or TE4 option.
So what’s happening with Tim Tebow?
As you can see, the Jacksonville Jaguars have perhaps the worst tight end position group in the entire NFL. The players they have are certainly capable in rotation, but as the lead guys, it’s hard to see the upside here.
Although Tebow has been out of the game for eight years, the Jaguars clearly have to find some type of playmaking ability at the position, and perhaps he could provide that.
Time will tell, but the addition of Tebow is at the very least intriguing given the current state of this Jacksonville position group.