Trevor Lawrence named the starter, Jaguars need to give him help

It’s official! Trevor Lawrence is the starting quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars. This isn’t surprising though. The Clemson product was expected to be QB1 ever since the Jags took selected him with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. It was just a matter of time before the team made it official.

Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer spoke to the local media on Wednesday and announced that Lawrence would be the starter, “Trevor’s gonna be the starter in Week One, he will start this week as well”. He had previously mentioned that the organization would make a decision around the third preseason game. Meyer went on to say that it was time.

"As we continue as a matter of a little bit of repetition out so we wanted him to earn it, as we do with every position. We felt he has after last night’s performance. It was good obviously not great when we run the ball very well but, but I kind of my mind had that as a half of a second preseason that we kind of have to get someone ready to play in three weeks."

Lawrence has alternated first-team reps with Gardner Minshew throughout the preseason. Meyer said that once he earned the job, he would exclusively practice with the ones.

During the sitdown, Meyer said he hadn’t spoken to Minshew about the decision to give the starting job to Lawrence. Then again, it’s not shocking news, the 2019 sixth-round pick was always projected to be the Jags’ backup in 2021. Also, it would’ve been hard to justify naming Minshew the starter over Lawrence after a less-than-stellar performance over the last two games.

What’s next for Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Trevor Lawrence has had an outstanding offseason. He had a few bad days but he showed growth during the summer and almost always looked like the best quarterback on the Jaguars’ roster. The former Tiger hasn’t scored a touchdown in the preseason but he hasn’t gotten much help either. The team needs to do a better job of running the back to take some pressure off the rookie passer’s shoulders.

Furthermore, the Jaguars need to do a better job of protecting Lawrence. It’s true that he at times held the ball a bit too long but he’s been rattled over the last two games and he can get into a rhythm if he’s constantly pressured. The Jags were without left guard Andrew Norwell, left tackle Cam Robinson and center Brandon Linder when they faced off against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 of the preseason. There’s a good chance the offensive line will perform better once the trio is back in the lineup.

Furthermore, Lawrence has been without wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. The 2018 second-round pick underwent hand surgery to repair a broken finger not long ago and hasn’t played in the preseason but he’s expected to play in the regular-season opener. His presence should give the Jaguars’ passing game a boost.

The last preseason game will give the Jaguars another more chance to fine-tune everything that hasn’t worked well up until now. By naming Lawrence the starter, they have checked off another item in their offseason to-do list. They now need to focus on getting ready for their Week 1 matchup against the Houston Texans.