Would You Rather: Gardner Minshew or Andy Dalton for the 2020 NFL Season

The Jacksonville Jaguars looked like they were firmly committing to second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew when they traded Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears earlier this offseason.

Andy Dalton Jaguars

Minshew may not be entirely in the clear, however. Following his release by the Cincinnati Bengals, Andy Dalton's odds of signing with the Jaguars are the second-best of any team, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

So this brings up a question for Jags fans — which quarterback would be the better option in 2020?

Gardner Minshew or Andy Dalton

Dalton probably has a worse reputation than he really deserves for his body of work over his career. The Bengals won double-digit games in five of his first six seasons as a starter. His recent production has been worrisome, however. In 13 starts in the 2019 season, he averaged just 6.0 adjusted yards per pass attempt (AY/A) — a career-worst mark for the 32-year-old QB. His marks of 6.67 and 6.8 in the previous two seasons, respectively, weren't anything to write home about either.

Even though the Jags seemed very reluctant to commit to him over the over-paid Foles, Minshew was shockingly good as a rookie. He averaged 7.3 AY/A, which sits well ahead of Dalton's career average (6.8), and which Dalton hasn't topped since 2016.

That efficiency put Minshew in some very interesting company. Over the last decade, only five players have attempted at least 400 passes and averaged over 7.0 AY/A as a rookie — Dak Prescott (8.6), Baker Mayfield (7.5), Minshew (7.3), Cam Newton (7.2) and Jameis Winston (7.1).

The long-term play is obviously Minshew, who the Jags will be hoping is their QB of the future even if they sign a stop-gap option like Dalton.

Looking at the numbers, however, Minshew may very well give them a better chance as playoff contenders in the 2020 season. Unless they're looking to tank for another top-10 draft pick in 2021, the Jags should commit to Minshew.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.