One of the reasons the Jacksonville Jaguars were so successful in 2025 was that head coach Liam Coen was able to get the most out of Trevor Lawrence. Coming off an injury-marred season, the former Clemson Tiger was entering a make-or-break year. Although he got off to a rocky start, he proved to be up to the challenge.
Under Coen's tutelage, Lawrence had a banner season, throwing for more than 4,000 passing yards and racking up a career-best 38 total touchdowns.
Surprisingly, Coen still believes that Lawrence has room for improvement, and he's not wrong. No. 16 has a better grasp of his scheme, and unlike past years, he doesn't have to recover from injuries. When you add it all up, he's in a position to take the next step. But just how good can Lawrence be in 2027? One of his biggest supporters thinks he could win MVP honors.
Nick Wright argues Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence could be MVP
Nick Wright of ESPN recently argued that Trevor Lawrence has done enough throughout his career to join the MVP conversation.
"Listen. Trevor has played five years in this league. Two were objectively excellent. Two years he finished top 10, MVP, once seventh, once fifth, but one of the year he finished seventh. He won a playoff game in stirring comeback fashion after digging himself the whole, admittedly, but still did it." Wright said during a roundtable on First Thing First. "So that two of his five years were, in my opinion, excellent. His rookie year was an abject disaster, and the year before this year was an abject disaster.
Wright continued, "The one we will argue about forever was his third year where they enter Monday Night Football, playing for the No. 1 seed at eight and three, he gets brutally injured. Has to walk himself off the field because they don't have a cart in that stadium, because he's so tough. And I feel like that injury derailed what was an awesome season. They were 8-3 going into that game, and so I will always argue about that third year. There's no argument to me about years 2 and 5 were great and years 1 and 4 were disasters."
So why does Wright think Lawrence has a realistic chance to win MVP in 2026? He's had enough talent around him, and the AFC is wide open.
"He's only 26 years old. I think this is the best offensive mind he's been with. I also think this roster is the best it's been since he's been there, and he should have the most weapons he's had since he's been there, assuming Travis comes back, wherever side of the ball he's on. So, yeah, like, I don't look at that division as overwhelming in any way, shape, or form, and I think we are," Wright said.
"Josh [Allen] is dealing with a new head coach, as is Lamar [Jackson]. Patrick [Mahome] is coming off the injury. There might be an opening where the guys we normally see atop the MVP ballot? And so, yeah, I think Trevor could win the MVP. Of course, he could."
Surprisingly, the rest of the ESPN panel agreed mostly with Wright. Even Chris Broussard expressed hope. This was a bit surprising because he's been one of Lawrence's most ardent critics.
The Jaguars are putting Trevor Lawrence in a position to be MVP
Nick Wright is right when he points out that Trevor Lawrence didn't have enough continuity and stability in past years. Granted, he also left a bit to be desired at times. In particular, the 2021 first overall pick has struggled with consistency throughout his career. However, that should no longer be an issue in 2027.
Liam Coen helped Lawrence put it all together. And entering Year 2, he should have an even better grasp of his scheme, the most complex he's had to learn in his career. The Jaguars, for their part, are making sure that their franchise quarterback has enough talent around him, something that wasn't always the case under past regimes.
Couple that with the fact that Trevor Lawrence is as healthy as he can be, and the MVP will be a realistic possibility if he picks up where he left off.