By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

It appears the Jacksonville Jaguars want to give Gardner Minshew every opportunity they can to be that franchise QB they have not had since Mark Brunell.

Yes, it has been that long Jaguar fans since Jacksonville has had a true franchise quarterback.

Dave Caldwell traded Nick Foles to Chicago and it appears the Jags are ready to roll with Minshew for the foreseeable future.

Minshew started 12 games for Jacksonville in 2019 and did a pretty good job. He passed for 3200 yards with 21 TD’s to only 6 interceptions.

Jacksonville went 6-6 with Minshew as the starter. Now with Minshew penciled as the starter it is Jacksonville’s responsibility to get him some weapons at wide receiver to be successful.

Many mock drafts have Jacksonville projected to go defense with their first selection in the first-round pick #9, but they also have pick #20 in the first round so many scenarios could unfold for the Jags.

Jerry Jeudy is regarded as the top wide receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft. He should still be on the board with the #9 pick if a team like the Raiders doesn’t trade up to select him from the #12 spot.

Jeudy burst on the scene at Alabama in 2018. He caught six touchdown passes in Alabama’s first three games of the 2018 season, including a 136-yard, two-touchdown performance against Ole Miss.

He had 135 yards and 2 touchdowns against Arkansas, and the next week set a career high with 147 yards and a touchdown against Missouri.

He had 139 yards and a touchdown in Alabama’s loss to Clemson in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Jeudy was named a consensus first-team All-American and first-team All-SEC. He was awarded the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver. His 14 receiving touchdowns led the conference and was tied for third nationally, and his 1,315 receiving yards were second in the conference.

Jeudy picked up where he left off in 2019. He was the Crimson Tide’s leading receiver in each of their first two games, finishing with 137 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Duke, and 103 yards and 3 touchdowns against New Mexico State the following week.

He finished the regular season with 959 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns and was again named first-team All-SEC. He saved his best game for last, with six receptions for 204 yards and a touchdown in the Crimson Tide’s win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

In early January Jeudy declared for the NFL Draft.

He finished his Alabama career with 159 receptions for 26 TD’s with a 17.2 yard per catch average. He is listed at 6’1 and 193 lbs. and ran 4.45 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

Jeudy can blow the top off of a defense. Jacksonville had good production with DJ Chark and company in 2019, but the WR room in Jacksonville is one of the least intimidating in the league at the moment. Jeudy could change all of that.

Jacksonville could still address defense at the #20 pick in the first round, and get a great player like Javon Kinlaw maybe to help shore up the defensive line, but if they insist on going defense with the #9 selection they will miss out on the best receiver in the draft.

Come on Jaguars, excite the fan base by selecting Jerry Jeudy with pick #9 if he is still on the board. Give Gardner Minshew the tools he needs to be that franchise QB you have been hoping for since Mark Brunell.

Blaine Gabbert, Byron Leftwich, and Blake Bortles all first round QB selections by Jacksonville would have loved to see a Jerry Jeudy type talent in their receiver room during their stay in the River City.

It will all unfold on April 23^rd. With the Covid-19 pandemic gripping our nation this could be the most watched NFL Draft in history.