Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence gets top ranking despite rough rookie season

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a potential franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. Although he didn’t have a particularly successful rookie campaign, he showed flashes of the talent that made him the top overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and managed to get the top spot in a recent re-ranking of last year’s quarterback class.

Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus recently re-ranked the top quarterback from the 2021 draft class and Lawrence once again landed at the top. Meanwhile, Mac Jones (New England Patriots) moved up three spots while Zach Wilson (New York Jets) popped up at number six. Justin Fields (Chicago Bears) and Trey Lance (San Francisco 49ers) remained in the same spot while Davis Mills (Houston Texans) popped on at number six. Kellen Mond and Kyle Pitts didn’t appear on the list. Here’s how the re-ranking looks:

1. Trevor Lawrence
2. Mac Jones
3. Justin Fields
4. Trey Lance
5. Zach Wilson
6. Davis Mills.

Regarding Lawrence, Renner explains that his Week 18 performance is the reason why the former Clemson Tiger won’t be “falling from this top spot this offseason”. Also, he showed more “high-end plays than any other quarterback from the 2021 crops while making plays “inside and outside the structure. Renner goes on to say that he expects big things from the former Clemson Tiger in his second NFL season.

Everyone seems to agree that the Jaguars must help Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence made several mistakes and threw a league-high 17 interceptions in 2021. However, you will be hard-pressed to find a signal-caller that had a flawless rookie campaign and Lawrence did as much as he could with the talent he had at hand. As Renner pointed out, he had one of the worst wide receiver corps in the league, less-than-optimal protection, and a coaching staff that had no plan in place to develop him and seemed to figure things out on the fly.

Had Lawrence landed in New England, he would have surely enjoyed the same kind of success that Jones had last year. The Patriots did everything the Jaguars should have done: Build around their rookie quarterback. Although they got knocked out of the playoff by the Buffalo Bills, it’s worth noting that they finished with a 10-7 record, which is significantly better than the Jags’ 3-14.

Lawrence has a higher ceiling than Jones and is the more talented of the two. You could argue that once the Jaguars get him some weapons and bolster their offensive line, he should see an uptick in performance and production. The Jags are in the envious position of not having to look for a quarterback. They now need to make the most of the situation and put him in a position to succeed.