Following the arrival of Brett Favre in 2009, the Minnesota Vikings immediately transformed into one of the top contenders in the NFL that season.
During his first year with the Vikings, Favre was able to help lead the team to 13 wins and earn an appearance in the NFC Championship. So the former Minnesota signal-caller is very aware of how much a quarterback can single-handedly change the fortunes of a franchise.
Despite this, Favre apparently doesn’t believe the Jacksonville Jaguars should use the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Instead, the former Vikings passer believes the Jaguars should select a prospect from a different offensive position group.
Former Minnesota Vikings great has an odd take on the 2021 NFL Draft
So if Favre doesn’t think the Jaguars should draft Lawrence with the No. 1 pick in the draft next April, then who does he believe they should select instead? The former Minnesota quarterback recently shared his thoughts with TMZ.
"“In my opinion, I don’t know if quarterback is [Jacksonville’s] immediate need. I would take [Alabama wide receiver] DeVonta Smith. I think you go with a guy like that. Nothing against Trevor Lawrence, but I think you can find a free-agent [quarterback] or a [quarterback] in the latter rounds or mid-rounds of the draft. But you just don’t find a guy like [Smith]. This guy can be a Jerry Rice, a Randy Moss, a total game-changer.”"
Now, Smith is expected to be a very good player in the NFL. There don’t seem to be many doubts about that. But it still seems extremely unlikely that the Jaguars would pass up the opportunity to draft a franchise quarterback like Lawrence.
While Smith is a great receiver, who would be throwing him the ball in Jacksonville? Gardner Minshew? Some journeyman free-agent quarterback like Favre suggested?
Not having a solid signal-caller on the roster pretty much makes it pointless to draft Smith. So there’s no reason for the Jaguars to select the talented wide receiver with their top pick in this year’s draft.
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Clearly, Favre is a big fan of Smith’s and he enjoyed what he was able to do at Alabama this past season. But the receiver’s performance in 2020 still isn’t enough to be worthy of being the No. 1 draft selection this year.