Gardner Minshew II is a Philadelphia Eagles quarterback from Flowood, Mississippi. Before the NFL world laid witness to his mustachio’d bravado, he starred at Brandon High School in Brandon, Mississippi. Minshew showed enough playing high school football to receive and an offer from Troy University. He accepted, but then left Troy to play one season at Northwest Mississippi Community College. From there, he transferred to East Carolina. A couple of pedestrian seasons as a Pirate led Minshew to transfer to Washington State University, where he settled in and had a standout season in 2018. He set a Pac-12 conference record for passing yards with 4,779 yards that season to go along with 38 touchdowns.
Minshew’s breakout season at Washington State prompted the Jacksonville Jaguars to give the 6-1 225-pound signal-caller a chance to shine in the NFL, choosing him in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft (no. 178 overall). Minshew’s chance came far sooner than expected. After free agent signing Nick Foles broke his collarbone in Week 1, the rookie started 12 games and came in for Foles in two others. Minshew proved he belonged in the NFL that season, however, throwing for 3,271 yards and 21 touchdowns to six interceptions. He also utilized his 4.97-second 40 speed to add an additional 344 yards on the ground. Minshew finished his rookie season with a QBR of 44.6 and a fantasy finish as the QB18 on a per-game basis. This was enough to enter the following season as the Jaguars’ starter. A thumb injury to one of his 10-1/8” hands cut his season in half and prevented him from living up to his ADP of QB22. Minshew started eight of a possible 16 games and filled in in another. He again put up solid numbers in 2020 (2,259 yards, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions, 6.9 yards per attempt, 66.1-percent completion percentage), but it was not enough to lead the Jags to more than one win on the season.
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Jaguars following the 2020 season came in the form of Trevor Lawrence, whom the Jaguars selected No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. That made Minshew the odd man out in Jacksonville. The Jaguars dealt him to Philadelphia for a sixth-round pick in August of 2021, and he backed up starter Jalen Hurts. Minshew made only two starts in 2021, throwing for 428 yards on 362 air yards, with eight deep ball attempts and four touchdowns to one interception. He is under contract through 2022, and will continue to back up Hurts.
