Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has suddenly become a fairly polarizing figure.
Some believe that he will never actually live up to the expectations that were levied upon him after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Others feel that he is still blossoming.
Then there is Ryan Michael of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who revealed his rather wild opinion on Lawrence heading into 2024.
So, apparently, Lawrence is better than Patrick Mahomes?
We can do verbal gymnastics and come up with creative ways to say Lawrence has been the game’s best quarterback over the last couple of years all we want, but it still sounds pretty outlandish.
Trevor Lawrence Was Not Great In 2023
Lawrence did not have a good year this past season.
The 24-year-old threw for 4,016 yards, 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while completing 65.6 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 88.5.
Those are not elite numbers.
Yes, Lawrence did battle through injuries, but those injuries did not start occurring until late in the season, and he wasn’t playing well when he was healthy, either.
In 2022, the Clemson product was certainly impressive, finishing with 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight picks while completing 66.3 percent of his throws and registering a 95.2 passer rating. He led the Jaguars to an AFC South division title in the process and also guided them to a thrilling comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
As a result, there were very high expectations for Lawrence and Co. going into 2023, but Jacksonville ended up missing the playoffs. The Jags actually got off to an 8-3 start, but lost five of their last six games.
We can cite Lawrence’s injuries as an excuse all we want, but we don’t do that for other quarterbacks. Plus, Lawrence was also terrible during his rookie campaign, totaling 12 touchdowns and a league-worst 17 picks.
So, essentially, Lawrence has had one very good season out of three.
The 2024 season will represent a huge year for Lawrence, who became eligible for a contract extension this offseason. If he bounces back in a big way, maybe we can open the discussion of the Knoxville, Tn. native being one of the best signal-callers in football. One of the best; not the best. But if he falters again? We may have to begin considering placing a “bust” label on him given the expectations that surrounded him when he entered the draft.
We’ll see what Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars can do come September.
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