4 emerging alphas on the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023

No. 1 emerging alpha on the Jaguars roster for 2023: Trevor Lawrence, QB

Do quarterbacks sometimes get more praise than they deserve? Do they get too much blame at times for losing close games? You bet, but nobody will deny that they're the position that has the biggest impact on the outcome of a matchup. That's why clubs will spare no expenses to acquire one. Fortunately for the Jaguars, they stumbled onto the long-term answer at the position when they drafted Trevor Lawrence first overall in 2021.

Arguably the best quarterback prospect to come out of the collegiate ranks since Andrew Luck in 2012, Lawrence had an underwhelming rookie season but that was due to factors beyond his control. Besides not having enough weapons at his disposal, Urban Meyer's lack of a plan to develop him put him in a tough spot.

Realizing that they needed to build around their franchise quarterback, the Jaguars hired Doug Pederson to help fix Lawrence and other players that had to deal with Meyer's impotence throughout his short stint at the helm.

Even though Pederson had a proven track record, he likely got the coaching gig in Jacksonville for his history of putting his quarterbacks in a position to succeed. One year after being hired, it's fair to say that the man known as Pug Dederson did a great job with the young passer.

Heading into the 2023 season, Lawrence has a better grasp of Pederson's offense and he's got a tight command of the offense, often exchanging ideas with the coaching staff. During a recent exchange with the local media, offensive coordinator Press Taylor praised Lawrence for taking control of the offense and getting involved in the team's preparation. As Pederson, noted, Lawrence can carry the team on his back, and that's precisely what you want your quarterback to do.