Jaguars' 2023 collapse makes Trevor Lawrence tumble in recent QB rankings

Even though Trevor Lawrence is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, you won't see them in the top 10 of most power rankings ahead of the 2024 NFL season. This is somewhat understandable. After a promising 2022, he regressed last year. What analysts fail to take into account is that he was playing hurt for most of the second half of the season. The fact that the Jags collapsed didn't help his case, and he now sits in Tier 3 of The Athletic's ratings.

The Athletic asked 50 NFL coaches and executives to rank all non-rookie starting quarterbacks by tiers. Lawrence, along with Tua Tagovailoa, Derek Carr, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, Geno Smith, and Deshaun Watson, landed in the third one.

Landing in such tier means that the quarterback is "a legitimate starter but needs a heavier running game and/or defensive component to win. A lower-volume dropback passing offense suits him best." It's also worth noting that Lawrence suffered the biggest drop of the bunch from last year to 2024, going from tier 2 to 3.

Lawrence completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 4,016 yards with 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. On top of that, he had 12 fumbles and lost seven of them, tied for the most in the league. However, the Knoxville, Tennessee native was also dealing with a series of ailments.

First, Lawrence suffered a knee injury. Then, shoulder and ankle injuries. He still managed to suit up for several games but his play was severely hampered. Later, the star quarterback sustained a concussion that forced him to sit out a handful of games. When you factor in that the Jaguars couldn't run the football and the offense became one-dimensional, his regression is understandable.

Earlier this year, Lawrence confided that he wasn't truly 100 percent healthy until March. He's now ready to reclaim his place as a top quarterback in the NFL, and the moves the Jaguars made in the offseason should help him in his quest.

Trevor Lawrence will help the Jaguars reclaim their place at the top of the AFC South

The NFL will always be about what you've done lately. That's why Trevor Lawrence ranked so low in The Athletic's ranking. However, he's shown in the preseason that he's still the same quarterback who mounted a historic comeback in the 2022 playoffs and led the Jacksonville Jaguars to the divisional round that year.

Lawrence sat out Week 2 of the preseason but completed 78.6 percent of his passes for 134 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Granted, it's just a limited sample but it shows that he's in a position to return to the top echelon of NFL quarterbacks.

It's also important to point out that, unlike other quarterbacks in Tier 3 of The Athletic, Lawrence has yet to reach his full potential. Russell Wilson is no longer the player he was during his stint with the Seattle Seahawks while Geno Smith has enjoyed a career revival but he'll never fall in the elite category. Similarly, Derek Carr was somewhat unremarkable in his first season with the New Orleans Saints.

This is to say that Trevor Lawrence is flying under the radar ahead of the 2024 season but he'll soon validate the Jaguars' decision to reward him with a contract that makes him one of the highest-paid players in league history.

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