Jacksonville Jaguars becoming relevant thanks to Trevor Lawrence

This might not sit well with some, but the truth is the Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t currently a good team and haven’t been in a while. However, Trevor Lawrence is helping them change that rather quickly, and he hasn’t even joined the organization!

Lawrence is one of the best quarterback prospects in recent years and the Jags hold the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Although Zach Wilson is making noise, there’s no way Jacksonville is taking him over the Clemson standout. In fact, head coach Urban Meyer has said more than once that the team is leaning towards drafting him.

Even though the draft hasn’t even taken place, it kind of feels like Lawrence is already on the team and the Jaguars are garnering plenty of national attention. The Tennessee native is already getting prominent endorsement deals. First, it was ADIDAS, and more recently, Gatorade signed him. This is meaningful because the last NFL quarterback the energy drink company sponsored was Cam Newton back in 2012.

Think about it, Lawrence hasn’t thrown a pass in the pros yet and is already getting the spotlight. On the other hand, there’s a downside to that. If he doesn’t have a positive impact right away, he will have to deal with the scrutiny all high draft picks face. That’s why it’s important for the Jags to surround him with talent and put him in a position to succeed. If this Jacksonville team does that and he plays as well as he did at Clemson, the Jaguars could quickly leave the NFL cellar and compete.

The attention comes with a caveat for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Not long ago, analyst Stephen A. Smith said he doesn’t care for the Jaguars and why would he? His opinion may have not sat well with you, but he’s not alone. This Jacksonville team doesn’t earn national recognition because it hasn’t been very good in a while. Sure, it’s shined at times, most recently in 2017, when they made it to the AFC Championship. Nevertheless, that was the exception, not the norm, as they reverted back to their irrelevant selves the following season.

Before that, the Jags made the playoffs all the way back in 2007. That year, Jack Del Rio was the head coach and David Garrard was the quarterback. You can’t expect to get recognition when you aren’t very good. Also, Jacksonville has failed to produce All-Pros on a consistent basis.

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey was one of those players that were getting the national spotlight but the Jags decided to trade him to Los Angeles Rams in 2019. Although Jacksonville got two first-round picks in return, the returns have been mixed at best.

What’s the point of bringing all this up? For the Jaguars to become consistently relevant, they have to keep winning, and adding more difference-makers could help them. Also, winning more games and becoming a perennial playoff team would help players such as wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. or linebacker Myles Jack earn the national recognition they rightly deserve.

At this moment, the Jacksonville Jaguars are the talk of the town because of Lawrence and because they hold the first overall pick, but that can quickly fade if they don’t start winning soon. After failing to accumulate many victories in recent years, they started rebuilding this offseason. They will have to finish the job if they want to get recognition on a consistent basis.