By: Eli Grabanski

When Tebow signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, sports media went crazy, and for good reason. He has not played for an NFL team since 2012. He’s slated to be 34 years old going into the 2021 NFL season. And he’s going to be making the switch from quarterback to tight end! Based on all this information, it’s a stretch that he even makes the Jaguars’ final roster.

But what if Tebow did make the roster? What would his ceiling look like?

This article will dive into what kind of stat line we could realistically see from Tim Tebow if he manages to make the team and has a role in the Jaguars offense in 2021.

Jacksonville Jaguars Depth Chart

The Jacksonville Jaguars have some depth at quarterback with Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew. They have depth at running back with James Robinson, Travis Etienne, and Carlos Hyde. They have depth at wide receiver with D.J. Chark, Marvin Jones, Laviska Shenault, and Collin Johnson. But at the tight end position? Not so much. Right now on the Jaguars roster, they have Chris Manhertz, James O’Shaughnessy, Luke Farrell, and Tim Tebow at the tight end position which is less than inspiring. The lack of an established quality tight end option will improve Tebow’s chances of making the final roster and challenge for some play-time here and there.

The Urban Meyer Factor

If Urban Meyer weren’t the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tim Tebow would not be in the NFL. But Urban Meyer had success with Tebow at the college level over a decade ago and believed that Tebow could be useful to the Jaguars offense in 2021, so he decided to give him a chance.

We can’t expect anything close to the kind of production he put up in college at the NFL level, playing a new position, over a decade later. But looking at these college statistics, we can see that Tebow was utilized in a couple of ways during his time at Florida – mainly through the air with his passing and on the ground with his rushing ability. This versatility makes it seem likely that the tight end position will be just one of the places that Tim Tebow lines up…especially considering that Urban Meyer’s 219 game career as a college football head coach, his tight end room averaged just 2.13 receptions for 25.61 receiving yards and 0.26 receiving touchdowns per game and he has been well-known for using players all over the field – like Trey Burton, Percy Harvin, Jordan Reed, and Curtis Samuel. Meyer and the Jaguars may list Tebow as a tight end officially, but he will likely deploy Tebow in a Taysom Hill-like fashion if Tebow makes the final roster.

The Darrell Bevell Factor

The Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator will be Darrell Bevell during the 2021 season. Bevell has taken a more traditional approach in utilizing his players and probably won’t be the one pushing for Tebow to play.

Take a look at the graph above. In just three seasons of Darrell Bevell’s 14-year career, he’s provided his officially listed wide receivers and tight ends with more than one carry per game. If Urban Meyer takes a more hands-off approach to the offense and leaves Darrell Bevell in charge, Bevell probably won’t give much rushing work to Tebow which would limit his overall upside as a player. The good news is that if Bevell believes that Tebow can successfully play the traditional tight end position, there is a little bit of receiving upside given Bevell sticks to his utilization of the position over the last five years.

The Conclusion

Tim Tebow may be listed as a tight end with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but given Urban Meyer’s love of ‘gadget’ players, it’s more likely that he is utilized a poor man’s Taysom Hill for the team. For reference, in 2019 when Taysom Hill was a gadget player the full season, he put up a stat line of 27 carries, 156 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 19 receptions (on 22 targets), 234 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns. Based on this, the absolute ceiling of Tim Tebow should be somewhere around…

The post What Is The Ceiling for Tim Tebow In Jacksonville? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Reese Nasser

Florida Gator legend and former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow has eyes on a return to the NFL. After a nearly six year long hiatus, the man himself has his eyes set on a comeback; as a Tight End. Well at least, he is being called a Tight End. Jacksonville Jaguars (and Tebow’s former coach at Florida) Urban Meyer has had discussions to bring his star pupil back on a one-year contract. Tebow, the 33-year old QB turned TE has never stopped playing professional sports. Tebow recently ended his four-year stretch of playing minor league baseball with the New York Mets minor league affiliates. That leads us to now. While it is still unknown how exactly the Jaguars will utilize Tebow, there are a few different possibilities. Let’s take a look.

Think Taysom Hill but Bigger

As many people heard the news of Tebow’s return, many people thought of New Orleans Saints Tight End/Quarterback, Taysom Hill. Hill has stuck around in the NFL, and recently signed a new contract with the Saints, because of his versatility. He fits in all over the offense and is able to make an impact all over the field. During the 2020 season, Hill had 121 pass attempts and 87 rushing attempts. He finished with 4 passing and 8 receiving touchdowns. Hill also recorded one receiving touchdown which brought his season total to 13. The Jaguars could be hoping to utilize Tebow this exact same way. An all-around gadget player that defenses would have to specifically scheme for. This could add a whole new layer to a Jaguars offense that now has Trevor Lawrence at the helm. It has been reconstructed and will look much different than what they sent out last season. 

Opening the Playbook

The arrival of Tebow would allow for the offense to go deep into the playbook and have some fun. While he has never caught a pass in either the NFL or college, he has clearly thrown the ball once or twice. This would cause defenses to always be prepared for a pass if he is one the field. Who knows, maybe we can even get something like this again.  

Tebow is an all-around athlete and should be utilized that way. Letting him sling the ball would be enough to make any football fan watch.

Guidance for Trevor Lawrence

The biggest opportunity in this potential signing comes from a leadership aspect. The opportunity to have a young quarterback like Lawrence able to have someone like Tebow in the locker room could prove to be very beneficial. Tebow may not be able to be the best player but his presence alone could change the entire locker room. Regardless of how you feel about him as an athlete, his attitude is like no other. A Jaguars team that has struggled for some time may welcome something like that. Urban Meyer may also welcome Tebow just because they are familiar. Who knows, Tebow may even be Meyer’s good luck charm

There is no guarantee that Tebow even makes the roster come this season but the possibility is there. Tebow’s willingness to put his head down and do the necessary work to be great is clear but will it be enough? The Jaguars already have five tight ends on the roster and the odds are slim to none that Tebow is better than any of them. Can he block a linebacker? Is he even able to catch a football? He just might be. So let the hometown kid try one more time.

The post Tim Tebow’s Role on the Jacksonville Jaguars appeared first on Pro Football Mania.