Trevor Lawrence moves up several spots in Post-Super Bowl QB ranking

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2022 offseason knowing they needed to put Trevor Lawrence in a position to succeed if they wanted him to play up to his potential. That was one of the reasons they hired Doug Pederson as their head coach and added several weapons in free agency. One year later, it’s fair to say that Lawrence made the most of the Jags’ investment in him, as he was recently named a top-10 quarterback.

Marc Sessler of NFL Media recently ranked all 68 quarterbacks that started a game last year and Lawrence appeared at No. 6. Sessler argues that the young passer benefited from Doug Pederson’s tutelage, who helped him get back on track after the Urban Meyer fiasco.

"Brimming with potential, Lawrence flowered into something rare under the watch of Doug Pederson. With what we know about the Urban Meyer disaster, Lawrence’s rookie season didn’t exist in terms of valuable takeaways. It’s a wonder he wasn’t ruined, but Pederson found a way to flip the switch on his massively framed signal-caller who grew more decisive, lessened off-kilter lobs, and punctured defenses with his legs in colder weather. The tier above Lawrence won’t budge, but they’ll make room for his entrance if he continues to rise."

Not surprisingly, Patrick Mahomes claimed the top spot in the ranking. Simply, he’s in a tier of his own. Jalen Hurts finished second, which makes sense when you take into account that he played a key role in the Philadephia Eagles’ playoff run. Joe Burrow and Josh Allen were ranked No. 3 and 4, respectively while Justin Herbert landed at No. 5.

Lawrence finished 32nd in last year’s ranking but moved all the way to the top 10 towards the end of the 2022 season. His lowest spot was after Week 8, when he threw two costly interceptions against the Denver Broncos.

The Jacksonville Jaguars should be ecstatic about Trevor Lawrence’s upside

Ranking quarterbacks is no easy task but Sessler got it right when he gave Lawrence the No. 6 spot. Some analysts will say the former Clemson Tiger was ranked too high and need to prove he’s not a one-year wonder before he’s dubbed a top-10 signal-caller. However, Lawrence showed enough progress in his sophomore campaign to earn a spot among the best quarterbacks in the league.

Lawrence’s talent was never in question coming out of college. Dubbed a generational talent and the most talented quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck, he entered the 2021 NFL Draft as the consensus No. 1 pick. Once Jacksonville secured the top selection, their odds of taking Lawrence were 99.9 percent.

The problem was that the Jaguars brass paired the Tennessee native with Urban Meyer, who was underqualified to coach an NFL team. Throughout his short tenure in Jacksonville, Meyer proved he had no idea what he was doing, which ended up hurting Lawrence’s development.

To the Jaguars’ credit, they realized their mistake and brought in Pederson, who started over with Lawrence and helped him improve both as a player and as a leader of a football team. General manager Trent Baalke also deserves credit for giving the young passer a well-rounded supporting cast.

The best part is that Trevor Lawrence hasn’t reached his ceiling yet. Playing in the same system for the second year in a row and having enough weapons should allow him to keep improving next season. While claiming the No. 1 spot in Sessler’s or any other ranking might seem unrealistic, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him move into the top 3-5 during the 2023 regular season.