The mustached rookie was an afterthought in this year’s draft, but he has put together one of the most impressive quarterback stretches in Jaguars history

One of the most memorable supporting characters of early 2000s cinema is Napoleon Dynamite’s Uncle Rico, the former high-school football quarterback who feels glory was unfairly snatched away from him, despite his rumored ability to throw a pigskin a quarter of a mile. When Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew II – and his decidedly retro facial hair – were unexpectedly pressed into service in the first game of the season, there were many who instantly associated him with Rico. If fans were initially wary of taking Minshew seriously, he has had the last laugh: in the first four games of his career he looks like a legitimate NFL starter.

Going into this year’s draft, most evaluators thought the Washington State product could end up as a team’s third-string quarterback – if he was lucky. The Jaguars ended up picking him in the sixth-round (we are legally obliged to note here that that’s the same round as Tom Brady). A lucrative career warming the bench appeared to beckon for Minshew but then starter Nick Foles broken his clavicle in the first game of the season. That should have been a season-ender for the Jags, who signed Foles to a four-year, $88m deal over the offseason hoping that the hero of Super Bowl LII would help them return to the playoffs after a miserable 2018.

Except, here’s the thing: Minshew hasn’t just been an adequate placeholder, he’s has been genuinely great. Like “as good as we’ve seen from a Jacksonville quarterback” great. Filling in for Foles in Week 1, he threw for an 88% pass completion rate, the best single-game passing performance in franchise history. The Jaguars lost 40-26 to the Kansas City Chiefs, but Minshew impressed enough that the Jaguars were comfortable naming him the starter after Foles was placed on Injured Reserve, ensuring that he will be out until at least Week 11. Minshew was not overwhelmed by the opportunity. He proceeded to throw for 213 yards in a one-point loss to the Houston Texans in Week 2 and then for 204 yards in his first professional win, a 20-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) GARDNER MINSHEW WHAT A PLAY 😤 pic.twitter.com/EmWMo5qcVI

On Sunday against the Denver Broncos, he had the signature moment of his young career when he threw the game’s first touchdown while escape multiple defenders. He then put together a drive to set up Josh Lambo’s game-winning field goal. He now has seven touchdowns and only one interception this season, and his 106.9 quarterback rating is sixth best in the league among regular starters and better than the likes of Brady, Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers. On their own merits, these have been an impressive first four games, but they probably look even better to a fanbase who have been burned by the likes of Blaine Gabbert and perpetual Good Place punchline Blake Bortles as starting quarterbacks.

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In other words, the Uncle Rico comparison isn’t fair for Minshew, as the entire joke around the character was that his deluded self-belief outstripped his talent. While they may spot somewhat similar looks, and share the same confidence in their abilities, there’s no question that Minshew is proving himself the exact opposite as a player.

Minshew, to his credit, has taken the nickname with good grace. On ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, before securing his second straight win as a starter, he appeared in a skit alongside Jon Gries, the actor who played Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite. While he probably won’t be able to shake the Uncle Rico handle, Minshew has an even stranger nickname among his teammates. It turns out that he is also known as the Jock Strap King due to his propensity for stretching in his jockstrap (and sometimes not even that) in the locker room as part of a gameday ritual.

At this point, the Jaguars will let Minshew do whatever he wants. With Sunday’s come-from-behind win, the Jaguars evened out their record at 2-2, good enough for a share of first place in the AFC South ( considering that every team in the division has the same record, that means they also have a share of last place, but let’s not quibble here). With their elite defense, Jacksonville were always going to have a chance to compete this season, but the offense was a question mark. If Minshew can keep doing what he’s doing, and running back Leonard Fournette’s 225-yard performance on Sunday ends up being a sign of things to come, the Jaguars could establish themselves as division favorites.

It’s hard to judge exactly what Minshew will give them going forward. Three starts is a small sample size to draw firm conclusions, and the NFL is littered with quarterbacks who looked like Pro Bowlers until opposing defenses figured out how to neutralize them. The appeal of Minshew’s story is obvious. When an undersized underdog succeeds, it gives us all – even Uncle Rico – hope, if we ignore the fact that Minshew needed to be a freakishly talented athlete to get anywhere near the NFL in the first place.

Still, it’s impressive whenever a freshman quarterback, thrown into a position that he was never supposed to be in, instantly succeeds. At the moment, let’s not speculate about Minshew being the Jaguars’ quarterback of the future. It’s noteworthy enough that he is the quarterback of now.