Trevor Lawrence ‘throws it like a classic John Elway, Vinny Testaverde’

With the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars could’ve taken any player they wanted but they settled on quarterback Trevor Lawrence. It looks like they made the right decision, as one former NFL executive believes the Clemson product is poised to make an impact right away and have a successful NFL career.

Former New York Jets Mike Tannenbaum appeared on the Matt Lombardo Show and said that if he could pick any player in the situation they entered coming out of the draft to produce immediate and sustained success, it would be Lawrence. Tannenbaum thinks that Zack Wilson will have a great career as well. He says he loves his mobility and arm strength but believes that Lawrence is too big and too strong. He then compliments the former Tiger and says that he ‘throws it like a classic John Elway or Vinny Testaverde’.

Tannenbaum later tells host Matt Lombardo that Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer is going to do well in his first year in the NFL but he’s going to experience a learning curve.

"It’s a big jump, just in terms of decision-making, clock management timeouts. It’s a different game. Urban has been successful everywhere he’s been going back to Bowling Green Utah, obviously for Ohio State. But there is a transition and as great coaches Nick Saban is, you know, we all saw the talk of a minute there as well when he went to Miami."

Drafting Trevor Lawrence was a no-brainer for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tannenbaum isn’t saying Trevor Lawrence will be as successful as Hall-of-Fame inductee John Elway, who won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos. Heck, Vinny Testaverde was a top selection as well and he went on to have a pretty mundane career, so comparing the Jaguars rookie quarterback to him may not be that flattering. Instead, the former general manager sees similarities between the 2020 ACC Player of the Year and the two quarterbacks he mentioned in terms of strength.

This is not really a hot take, as Lawrence proved in college that he can make all the throws. Even though he underwent surgery on his non-throwing shoulder earlier this year, he displayed no limitations in organized team activities and minicamp. While Jaguars offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell has shown an affinity for running the ball, he needs to eventually take advantage of his quarterbacks’ arm strength. After all, the organization is building the offense around him, so it wouldn’t make sense to not let Lawrence sling the football.

Urban Meyer is no different from any other first-time NFL head coach.

Tannenbaum is right. Meyer is going to go through growing pains but that’s normal for every first-time NFL head coach. As good as the former Ohio State head coach is at building college powerhouses, the pros are a different deal. To begin with, the level of competition will be significantly higher and he and the Jaguars will be on the top of their game week in and week out.

That doesn’t mean Meyer won’t have success in the NFL. Rather, he will experience an adjustment period but once he figures things out, the head coach should have the Jaguars in a position to compete on a consistent basis.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a young team with a rookie quarterback and a first-time NFL head coach. The duo will grow together and has the potential to get the organization back on track. So far, they are up to a good start.