Trevor Lawrence showing he’s the right leader for the Jaguars

Not many things have gone the way the Jacksonville Jaguars expected before the start of the 2021 season. Urban Meyer is no longer their head coach and sitting at 2-12, the Jags have the worst record in the league. On the other hand, you don’t have to dig deep to find reasons for optimism moving forward, and having a potential franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence should be the top one.

The Clemson Tiger hasn’t had a particularly great rookie campaign, completing 58 percent of his passes for 2,945 yards with nine touchdowns and 14 interceptions. However, he remains optimistic he and his teammates will turn things around. Right after the Jaguars moved on from Meyer, Lawrence met with the local media and acknowledge that the team has their work cut out for them. He also took the opportunity to thank those that have been part of this process, including his teammates, Jacksonville’s coaching staff, and vice president of communications Amy Palcic.

"I have a lot of appreciation for all those guys in there that have been working to try to get this thing right and it hasn’t been easy. So I have a lot of appreciation for the players, for the coaches, for everybody. Amy [Palcic], she has been great. She’s had a tough job, she’s awesome."

The Jaguars aren’t suddenly going to turn into a perennial playoff team and they will need a cool-headed leader to guide them when things aren’t great. Similarly, if they become a good team, they will need someone to have them grounded and Lawrence has proven he’s that man. After the loss to the Texans, the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft acknowledged that he missed some throws and needs to make plays. That’s what you want to hear from the face of the franchise. Instead of passing the buck, he’s holding himself accountable for the team’s woes.

The Jaguars must build around Trevor Lawrence moving forward.

The Jaguars are going to start yet another rebuild next offseason. On the bright side, they won’t have to worry about addressing the quarterback position as they have Lawrence in place. You could make the case that the team wasted his rookie season and they can’t afford to do the same in 2021. They need to surround him with more weapons on offense and also solidify the offensive line.

Moreover, they need to hire a head coach that will untap Lawrence’s potential. Sadly, Urban Meyer couldn’t do it and if the signal-caller had shown more growth under his tutelage, there’s a good chance he would still be employed. On the bright side, it looks like the former Clemson Tiger is going to have some level of input in the Jaguars’ search for their next head coach. This is the right call, as Lawrence has a good feel of the locker room and knows what his teammates liked and didn’t like about Meyer’s approach. Moreover, why wouldn’t you get the face of the franchise involved in this process?

The Jaguars have their work cut out ahead of the offseason but if they can build around Lawrence, there’s a chance they will turn the corner. They have the right leader in Lawrence, they now need to pair him with the right head coach.