Gardner Minshew

A sixth-round draft pick last year, Minshew was supposed to back up Nick Foles all season. But Foles broke his collarbone Week 1, and Minshew Mania was born. He ranked sixth in the NFL with a 1.3 INT percentage, throwing only six picks on 470 attempts, and led the rookie class with a 91.2 passer rating. Minshew does not have a strong arm (why he fell to the sixth round), but his timing and touch are excellent, making him one of the league's better deep-ball passers. He led the NFL in completion percentage (47.6), YPA (17.2) and passer rating (125.6) on attempts longer than 20 yards last season (min. 30 attempts). He also effectively used play action to beat defenses, ranking second in completion percentage (79.3) and third in passer rating (142.7). While he's not tall at 6-1, he's a good athlete who can make plays with his legs (344 rushing yards, 5th among QBs), though he needs to improve his ball security after fumbling 13 times, losing seven. Minshew completed just 60.6 percent of his passes last year, but accuracy was a strength coming out of college (70.7 percent, 2nd nationally) and with his quick release and skilled progression work, it's reasonable to expect improvement in Year 2. New OC Jay Gruden should help, and Foles is gone, so Minshew won't be looking over his shoulder this season.

Minshew transferred to Washington State for his final collegiate season and proceeded to finish top-two in the country in passing yards, completions, attempts and completion percentage. The 23-year-old totaled 4,779 yards with 38 touchdowns and nine interceptions. A sixth-round pick in April's draft, Minshew somehow finds himself in the position to potentially earn the backup job in his rookie season in Jacksonville. Last year's quarterbacks Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler have been jettisoned, leaving 2018 sixth-round pick Tanner Lee and Minshew to battle for backup duties behind new starter Nick Foles. Lee made his way to the active roster for the season finale and should have a small leg up on the newcomer, but Minshew should have every opportunity in training camp to prove he's the better No. 2 option.