Tim Tebow: 5 Reasons Jacksonville Jaguars Must Trade for Native Son

It was determined on Monday that former Indianapolis Colts great Peyton Manning will be the next starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, according to a report from ESPN's Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter.

On a related note, Tim Tebow will be on the trading block as soon as Manning signs his life away.

So then, who wants to deal for an uber-popular quarterback whose only NFL success has come running an option offense?

[Crickets, man coughing, sound of pin hitting the ground.]

Come on, Jacksonville Jaguars. You know you want to. 

It's no secret that Tebow has been linked to the Jags in the past, and the reasons why are as clear as day. Tebow grew up in Jacksonville before going on to make a name for himself at Florida, and it just so happens the Jags could use a starting quarterback.

Whether or not there's any realism to the notion of the Jags dealing for Tebow is something only they know. What I know is that there are reasons why they need to trade for Tebow.

Here they are.

Completely Move on from Jack Del Rio Era

The Jaguars have a new owner in Shahid Khan and a new head coach in Mike Mularkey, who went out and completely revamped the team's coaching staff.

So beyond the sidelines, the Jaguars don't look all that much like the Jack Del Rio Jaguars of 2003-2011. Off the field, the Jags have the look of a team headed in a new direction.

This new direction just hasn't manifested itself out on the field yet. If the season were to start today, the 2012 Jaguars would bear a striking resemblance to the 2011 Jaguars, a team that went 5-11.

Trading for Tebow would change that.

The deal may not work out in the long run, but a trade for Tebow would immediately send out a message that the Jaguars are not content to move forward with the leavings of the old regime.

Right now, it seems like the team's new ownership and coaching staff aren't all that concerned with making any significant changes. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Keep Up with AFC South

The AFC South was a top-heavy division in 2011, with the Houston Texans winning 10 games and the Tennessee Titans winning nine. The Jaguars and Colts combined for just seven wins.

Despite the fact that the Titans tried to sign Manning, they're pretty well set at quarterback. They have a solid veteran in Matt Hasselbeck and a talented youngster in Jake Locker, who could very well open the 2012 season as the team's starter.

The Texans were also linked to Manning, but they never had much motivation to go get him, seeing as how they knew they had Matt Schaub to fall back on. Before he got hurt, Schaub was one of the top quarterbacks in the AFC last season, throwing for nearly 2,500 yards in 10 games with a QB rating of 96.8. Going from him to Manning would not have been a huge upgrade.

Meanwhile in Indy, the Colts are likely to use the No. 1 overall pick on Andrew Luck, who many think is the next John Elway.

So the Jags don't need to make a deal just for the sake of making a deal. The Jags are about to be the lowest team on the AFC South totem pole, so they may as well take a chance by dealing for Tim Tebow.

Need to Get a Better Quarterback

I understand that 2011 was Blaine Gabbert's rookie season, and that it's not exactly fair to label him a bust given the sheer lack of talent he had to work with.

But my goodness, was Gabbert horrible. The bar was set pretty low for him when he took over as the team's starter, yet he still managed to disappoint.

All told, Gabbert threw for 2,214 yards in 15 games' worth of action. His 50.8 completion percentage was second-lowest in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks, and his QB rating of 65.4 was the worst mark in the league.

Granted, Tim Tebow wasn't much better, completing just 46.5 percent of his passes (worst in NFL) and compiling a QB rating of 72.9. As bad as he was, though, Tebow deserves plenty of props for consistently being money late in games, not to mention leading the Broncos to the playoffs. He was far, far from perfect, but the Broncos couldn't have done it without him.

So if the question is whether going from Gabbert to Tebow would be an upgrade, my answer is yes. 

Gotta Take Pressure off Maurice Jones-Drew

You're not going to find a tougher runner than Maurice Jones-Drew. By all rights, he should have been pounded into a puddle of goo by, say, Week 14 last season. Amazingly, he just kept carrying the ball.

And that's just the thing. He carried it too often. He led the NFL with 1,606 rushing yards, sure, but it took him 343 carries to do it. Michael Turner was second on the list with 301 carries, 42 fewer than MJD.

When you give your running back that many carries, you're asking for trouble. The Jags would be wise to make sure MJD never has to take on that many carries again.

Bringing in Tim Tebow would help. Not because he's a guy who can chuck it upwards of 30 or 40 times a game, mind you, but because he's a guy who can help share the rushing load. It wouldn't be a great idea for the Jags to go full-option after acquiring Tebow, but denying him chances to run the football would be denying him the chance to use his best skill. 

The simple breakdown is this: More carries for Tebow would equal less carries for MJD.

If nothing else, that would keep MJD from being pounded into a puddle of goo for at least one more season. Given how important he is to this Jaguars team, that would be a good thing.

Generate Interest

You may be surprised to hear this, but The Florida Times-Union reported in late December of 2011 that the Jaguars were able to avoid TV blackouts for each one of their home games this past season. In fact, they haven't had a home game blacked out in either of the past two seasons.

But attendance is still lagging.

Per ESPN.com, the Jags drew an average of 63,032 fans to EverBank Field in 2010, and an average of 62,331 in 2011. They ranked toward the bottom of the league in attendance both seasons, and it's worth noting that EverBank Field can hold roughly 76,000 people.

If the Jags were to trade for Tim Tebow, they wouldn't have to worry about people not coming out to the stadium anymore. On the contrary, there wouldn't be an empty seat in the house on Sundays.

Needless to say, this would be good for business, and that makes dealing for Tebow worth the risk. Even if Tebow were to struggle out on the field, the Jags could rest comfortably knowing that they'd have a cash cow the likes of which the franchise hasn't seen in, well, ever.

In the event that Tebow were to succeed, the Jags would become something they've never been. 

A powerhouse.