PFF gives Jaguars high praise for taking care of Trevor Lawrence in the offseason

The Jacksonville Jaguars saw enough of Trevor Lawrence the past three years to know he's their franchise quarterback. So instead of waiting to lock up him, they went ahead and gave him an extension that made him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Some analysts weren't fond of the decision but you can count Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus among those who did like it.

Sikkema drew up a list of the best decision each AFC team made in the offseason and believes the Jags got it right when they gave Lawrence a new deal.

"The Mitch Morse signing was an option here, but the biggest move was the Jaguars giving Trevor Lawrence his contract extension before Dak Prescott, Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa inked new deals.

Lawrence’s $275 million deal comes despite the team going without much postseason success since he was drafted. The extension was always going to get done, though, as Lawrence has improved each year and led the Jaguars to two consecutive winning seasons.

The Jaguars did the right thing by getting his contract in before the price went up."

Lawrence, the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, got off to a rocky start to his NFL career. The Jaguars didn't have much talent around him in his rookie season and Urban Meyer, the head coach at the time, hampered his development. Fortunately, things got better for the former Clemson Tiger in 2022.

Having kicked Meyer to the curb late in 2021, the Jags hired Doug Pederson to take his place. Moreover, the front office upgraded his supporting cast. Right away, Lawrence showed noticeable improvement. By the end of the 2022 season, he was playing like a top-10 quarterback.

Expected to take another step in 2023, Lawrence regressed slightly. In particular, he struggled to hold on to the football, losing seven fumbles. It didn't help that Jacksonville couldn't get the running game going, so the quarterback had to play nearly perfectly to have a chance of winning.

But despite a somewhat underwhelming season, the Jaguars have seen enough in Lawrence to know he's their franchise quarterback. He wasn't going to be a free agent until 2026, so they couldn't put off paying him. Instead, they got ahead of the curve and gave him an extension with two years in his current contract.

The Jaguars made a great decision when they extended Trevor Lawrence

If the Jaguars didn't think Trevor Lawrence is the long-term answer at quarterback, they wouldn't have built the offense around him. After realizing that they didn't help him much last year, the team's brass made upgrades across the roster to ensure he no longer has to win games by himself. Simply put, they made a significant commitment to Lawrence and the team around him because they 100 percent know he's their guy.

You might want to argue that Lawrence hasn't done enough to justify getting a new deal, but the Jags believe he has. That's why they chose to lock him up before quarterback salaries went up. Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, and Tua Tagovailoa are also in line for a contract, and they'll try to get a bigger one than the one Lawrence got.

Conversely, Jacksonville would've had to pay Lawrence more if they had gave him a new deal until other quarterbacks got signed.

in the end, the Jaguars decided that giving Lawrence a new deal right now was the best course of action. Having checked off that box, they can fully focus on reclaiming the AFC South and making a deep playoff push in 2024.

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