I keep in mind the primary time I noticed Trevor Lawrence. It was the summer time of 2017 throughout an NFL Community present dedicated to the Elite 11, the preeminent competitors for highschool quarterbacks. It’s been the perfect barometer for who the subsequent batch of signal-calling prospects are. And I keep in mind seeing he was a Clemson commit in the course of the peak of their dominance. The lengthy hair, the peak, the poise, the accuracy … it was the plain full bundle. And Lawrence lived as much as the lofty expectations set for him as a as soon as–in–a–era prospect for the Tigers. That was till he confirmed up within the NFL, proving that bounce is a large one for any quarterback. Taking the helm of a crappy workforce isn’t a everlasting band-aid.
It took till 12 months No. 3 within the NFL, however Lawrence has lastly began to point out on the skilled circuit what all that hype was about. Take Jacksonville’s win over New Orleans final evening as a major instance. Was he spectacular? No, and Lawrence’s restraint shouldn’t be labeled as an absence of capacity. It’s maturity. Lawrence doesn’t should be Superman to win with the quantity of expertise the Jaguars have put round him. The Clark Kent persona generally has to return out, particularly that game-winning drive in opposition to the Saints. And he by no means threw a pick-six like his gridiron counterpart from The Large Simple, Derek Carr, did final evening.
It solely took two performs on Jacksonville’s remaining drive of the sport to not contain a kneel for it to attain. And the Saints’ retort led to a turnover on downs. Evaluating Lawrence to Carr isn’t a good battle, as the previous Clemson quarterback has been higher than Carr since highschool. Sorry not sorry for that dig. The one query now’s how far Lawrence can take the Jaguars and why it took three years for the right Lawrence to point out up. Each solutions are a bit of extra simple than you may suppose.
Lawrence will be the catalyst to guide the Jaguars deep into the playoffs, nearly like he did final season. These playoffs had been the learning-on-the-fly expertise he wanted to place all of the items collectively. That’s why staging is so necessary in cooking. Not the platform the place musical theater takes place, with a tough A, stage. Like a extra hands-on internship. You study when you can burn on the road. When you can’t discover one other profession. When you can, you possibly can grow to be Gordon Ramsay. And that was the four-interception first half in opposition to the Chargers final 12 months the place he mounted it within the second half to guide Jacksonville to victory. After which he almost took down the eventual Tremendous Bowl champion Chiefs on the street the subsequent week. That’s not dismissing how terrible throwing 4 interceptions in two quarters is. It’s how these horrible passes didn’t tank his workforce’s season. And now, within the best division to win in soccer, the Jaguars have the within monitor to dominating the AFC South for years to return.
In NFL phrases, two years for a quarterback really isn’t that lengthy. Zach Wilson was given two years’ price of possibilities earlier than Aaron Rodgers got here to city. What number of second possibilities has Carson Wentz had? On the finish of final 12 months, Lawrence made little question that this was his franchisee for the foreseeable future, and it’s solely constructed that fairness this season. Jacksonville is 3-0 on the street and is in the midst of a 4-game win streak that ought to attain 5 subsequent weekend with a recreation in opposition to Pittsburgh. Then comes a house contest in opposition to the 49ers. What a matchup that will probably be, as Lawrence vanquishing probably the greatest defenses within the league could be his nationwide flag-planting second. And doing that earlier than the tip of 12 months No. 3 within the NFL is mightily spectacular regardless of how he obtained right here.
