Trevor Lawrence lands in somewhat high quarterback tier

Football is the ultimate game sport but there’s no doubt quarterback has more influence on the outcome of the game than others. If you have a good one, your chances of winning will go up considerably. Make no mistake though, you can still win football games without an elite passer but everything around him must be perfect. Fortunately, the Jacksonville Jaguars are set at the position with Trevor Lawrence, who earned a favorable spot on a recent quarterback list.

Christian D’Andrea of USA TODAY Sports recently sorted out all starting quarterbacks in the NFL by tiers and Lawrence popped up in the third one, “He’s young and we hope he’s the guy“. Other quarterbacks that appeared in the same tier were Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins), Mac Jones (New England Patriots), Davis Mills (Houston Texans), Zach Wilson (New York Jets), and Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles). D’Andrea doesn’t say much about Lawrence’s inclusion but notes that he landed in a less-than-optimal situation last year.

"These are the quarterbacks teams have staked their futures upon but aren’t quite sure it’s a good bet. Lawrence and Wilson may have the greatest potential of the group, but each was hamstrung by a debut season with a bad team that could have stunted their growth (Wilson, in particular, was statistically the worst quarterback in a rotation that included Joe Flacco, Mike White, and Josh Johnson)."

The four remaining tiers are ‘Kirk Cousins’, ‘He’s experienced, we’d love to upgrade’, ‘He’s young(ish) and we’re pretty sure he’s not the guy’ and the the last one is ‘He’s a warm body who kinda looks like a starter’. Some of the quarterbacks that populate those tiers are Sam Darnold, Mitch Trubsky, Carson Wentz, and Sam Darnold.

Trevor Lawrence still has a long way to go as a quarterback.

While it’s good to see Trevor Lawrence avoiding the last four tiers, 12 quarterbacks are listed above him and you wouldn’t call him a top 15/20 passer just yet, would you? Also, some of the signal-callers on the list were ranked significantly low. Derek Carr has no business being in the fifth tier. While he’s not a top-echelon passer, there are several NFL teams that would like to have him. The same is true for Matt Ryan, who is in the twilight of his career but is a better quarterback than Lawrence at this point of his career.

Last season, Lawrence flashed the potential to become a top passer in the league but he’s still has plenty of work to do before he’s mentioned in the same breath as Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. In fact, it’s uncertain if he can achieve the same level of those as those two.

On the bright side, the Jaguars recognized that they need to do a better job of putting the former Clemson Tiger in a better position to succeed. That’s why they hired Doug Pederson, a head coach with experiece developing quarterbacks. Also, general manager Trent Baalke has spent the offseason fortifying Jacksonville’s offensive line and wide receiver corps. Of course, Lawrence will have to do his part to become the franchise quarterback the Jags expected when they took him first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

2022 is going to be a crucial year in Lawrence’s development but he will be well-equipped to face whatever challenges he encounters. The talent is there. It’s up to him to untap it.