The Jacksonville Jaguars got so lucky with the 2021 NFL Draft

The Jacksonville Jaguars had the number one overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and they selected quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson. That was a franchise altering event that is going to positively effect them for the next decade or more.

It has already started to help them and it hasn’t even been that long yet. With Lawrence already. they have a division title and a playoff win. Jacksonville wasn’t used to those fun moments before he arrived. Now, they have the Super Bowl on their mind.

There was a bit of luck involved there. The Jaguars were starring down the second overall pick but the New York Jets decided to win a couple of games over the final few weeks of the season which put the Jaguars ahead of them on the draft board.

With the second overall pick, the Jets took Zach Wilson who is now closer to being out of the league than he is to winning a Super Bowl. That did not work out well for them at all. Now, we don’t know for sure that the Jaguars would have selected Wilson.

The Jacksonville Jaguars ended up very lucky in the 2021 NFL Draft.

It seemed like a strange decision as Justin Fields seemed to be the second best quarterback in the draft. Oddly enough, he fell to pick ten where the Chicago Bears traded up to select him. He ended up being the fourth quarterback taken as the San Francisco 49ers selected Trey Lance third overall.

Mac Jones went to the New England Patriots in the middle of the first round which meant that five quarterbacks were taken. Of them all, Lawrence is the best by far. Fields has a high ceiling but the Jaguars are still super lucky to be picking first overall because Lawrence is just the best player.

To be honest, Lawrence is already a top-ten quarterback in the NFL. There are people that would argue that he’s even higher than that. By the time 2023 is over, there might be people saying he is amongst the best in the entire league, if they aren’t already.

It is scary to think about what would be if the Jets didn’t win a couple of games down the stretch in 2020-21. Would Justin Fields be a Jaguar? Would they have made the Trevor Lawrence mistake?

The good news is we never have to find out which is very lucky. Hopefully, the Jags find a way to win their first title with him under center.