Jaguars TE Tim Tebow named one of worst first-round pick since 2006

There’s a reason why Tim Tebow is currently trying to make the transition from quarterback to tight end. He wasn’t very good and recently appeared in a not-so-flattering list.

Once the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Urban Meyer as their head coach earlier this year, it seemed inevitable that Tim Tebow would join the organization. After all, the pair worked together back at Florida. Would he try to make a comeback as a quarterback? Would he join the coaching staff? What about the team’s chaplain? The Jags signed him hoping he can switch positions and play tight end for them.

Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus penned a list of the worst first-round picks since 2006 and Tebow made the cut.  He is very blunt in his assessment and says the 2010 25th overall pick wasn’t cut to play quarterback in the pros. Renner also points out that the former Gator had a completion percentage below 50 in the NFL.

Back in 2010, you were hard-pressed to find a scouting department that saw Tebow as a first-round talent. However, then-Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels threw a curveball at everyone when he used the 25th overall selection in that year’s selection meeting on the quarterback. So why didn’t Tebow get much hype as a draft prospect despite the fact he was the first player ever in college football to win the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore and helped Florida win two National Championships? His throwing motion was painfully slow.

Heading into the draft, Tebow worked on changing his throwing mechanics but couldn’t recreate the success he had in college. After two years in Denver, he was traded to the New York Jets, where he didn’t do much of note. He then tried out for the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles but didn’t sign with either team. He later embarked on a Minor League baseball career and is now trying to attempt a comeback in the NFL after last playing in a regular-season game in 2012.

Tim Tebow’s career in the NFL could have turned out differnetly.

Josh McDaniels wasn’t a good head coach but he’s a heck of an offensive coordinator. He maybe had a plan in place to get turn Tebow into a starting NFL quarterback. Alas, he was canned one season after drafting the Florida product. His successor, John Fox tried to adapt the Broncos’ offense to Tebow and mask his weaknesses. Surprisingly, the quarterback with the funny throwing motion played a key role in upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the 2011 NFL playoffs.

Nevertheless, Tebow was dealt to the Jets once Denver acquired quarterback Peyton Manning. You could make the case McDaniels could have helped him but he didn’t get the chance. Also, he was offered the opportunity to switch to tight end once it was evident he wasn’t going to make it as a quarterback in the NFL but he rejected, saying ‘it wasn’t in his heart‘.

What if Tim Tebow had accepted and had made the transition to tigth end early in the 2010s? We could be talking about him in a different light. Instead, he’s now an underdog trying to to make the Jaguars’ roster. On the bright side, he’s got the endorsement of his teammates.