Jacksonville Jaguars: The obvious tank job
There was a time when the Jacksonville Jaguars were one of the best teams in the AFC. They were a shutdown defense that was so good that they made it to the AFC Championship Game with Blake Bortles. That needs to be re-emphasized to hit home. Blake Bortles had the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game in 2017 and they were leading over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter.
Now, think back to that team and imagine if they had their current quarterback, Gardner Minshew. As a rookie, Minshew was able to complete 60.6 percent of his passes for 3,271 yards with 21 touchdowns and only six picks. The year they went to the AFC Championship, Bortles completed 60.2 percent of his throws for 3,687 yards with a 21-to-13 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
There were warts in Minshew’s game for sure, but he was further along in his first campaign than Bortles at the height of his. And the defense that Jacksonville had still possessed a lot of talent from their near Super Bowl run.
But rather than try and continue to push for a shot in the AFC South, they decided to tank for Trevor Lawrence. They haven’t come out and admitted it, but trading off Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye is all you need to know to prove what’s going on.
And while there is an argument that Lawrence will be worth it, ask Miami fans if the tank always works. No team has ever dumped off talent the way they did in 2019 but the players rallied around Ryan Fitzpatrick and won enough games to keep them out of the No. 1 spot. There’s clearly a chance the guys in Jacksonville can do the same around Minshew — meaning the tanking might not even work, which is why it’s not a great tactic.