2020 NFL Season: The Jacksonville Jaguars are “Tanking”
The 2020 NFL Season will be the most Important season ever for the Jacksonville Jaguars. If they tank right, they get themselves their prized possession of the 2021 NFL Draft. They won’t come out and say it publicly. They want their fan base to believe that Gardner Minshew is the Quarterback of the future, and that he will magically get this gutted roster to the playoffs. The truth is, the Jaguars are hardly a team that will be in position to make a Playoff run in the 2020 NFL Season. Unless they really believe in “Minshew Mania” or “Minshew Magic”. The 50 Jaguars fans that exist aren’t buying it. No ones buying it.
Trading away top talent for Draft Picks:
Recently the Jaguars have rid themselves of some of the best players on their roster. Yannick Ngakoue, arguably the teams former best defensive player was traded to the Vikings for a 2nd Rounder in 2021 and a conditional 5th Rounder in 2022. They then let their leading young Running Back, Leonard Fournette, go for nothing. But if you look back to the Jags 2019 NFL Season, that’s when the tanking really began. They gave up their Superstar Corner, Jalen Ramsey in the middle of the season, for a 2020 1st Round Pick (K’Lavon Chaisson), a 2021 1st Round Pick, and a 2021 4th Round Pick. The common denominator here is the 2021 NFL Draft. The Jags have known since 2019, that in 2020 they would tank for Trevor Lawrence. That is why since 2019 they have a acquired a myriad of future Draft picks. Three of them in 2021, the first year that Trevor Lawrence is available for the NFL Draft.
The AFC South:
If you’ve read my article of the 2020 NFL Season Record Predictions, you’d know I have the Jags going 1–15. They are easily the worst team in the AFC South. When you look at the Quarterbacks, just in their division, they are at a huge disadvantage. From Watson, to Tannehill, and Rivers, the Jags have the worst Quarterback in the division by a landslide. They know this. That is why their plan of tanking is not some huge secret. They can deny that they’re not tanking all they want to. What else are they supposed to come out and say to their 50 fans? No organization's leadership is going to outright come out and say they are trying to lose. That doesn’t mean that they don’t hope to, for the betterment of this teams future. Luckily for the front office, and Jags Leadership, they won’t have to hope or try very hard to lose in 2020. In fact, they will be doing a lot of it.
The 50 Jaguars fans that actually exist:
Another problem for this team is their attendance or lack their of. There just aren’t many Jaguars fans, and if there are, they don’t come out and proudly say it. Being a Jags fan is like being part of a secret society. No one knows an actual Jags fan. I’ve certainly never met one. One way to fix that immediately, is for this team to get a reputable face of the Franchise that their small and close to non-existent fan base could be proud of. That one person is Trevor Lawrence.
Trevor Lawrence:
In my 2021 NFL Mock Draft 1.0, I have the Jaguars taking Trevor Lawrence, and for good reason. The Jaguars Quarterback of the future is not on the current roster. If he was, they would not be getting rid of their best players. Usually you keep your best players and continue to build around your Quarterback. Contrary to popular belief, Gardner Minshew is not “the guy”. That’s where Lawrence comes in. Lawrence is a once in a generation type NFL Quarterback prospect. He’s the top Prospect on my Big Board, and there is no way the Jaguars are going to pass up the opportunity to “earn” (tank) the right to draft him in 2021. Lawrence is the main reason this team is tanking and barring some miracle, he will most certainly be a Jaguar in 2021. If he’s not, then the Jaguars 2020 Season will have been a disaster. So for the 50 or so Jaguars fans that actually exist, their hope should be for the worst season and record possible. That’s not going to be hard to do with this current roster. It’s a small price and sacrifice to make for a future Franchise changing Quarterback like Trevor Lawrence.
Jeffrey Genao is a Writer and Contributor for Top Level Sports. You can Read more of his Content at Top Level Sports. You can also Follow his Publication Below:
