This Trevor Lawrence comparison will make Jaguars fans roll their eyes

Over the past two years, Trevor Lawrence played well enough to get a massive extension from the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, that hasn't stopped critics from looking for ways to diminish his accomplishments. Throughout the offseason, they've compared him to Daniel Jones and former teammate Gardner Minshew. Most recently, they compared him to another quarterback who played for the Jags.

Several aggregators on Twitter have compared Lawrence's numbers over the last three seasons to those of Blake Bortles. That's right, some accounts believe that the player affectionately known as the Boat was a much better quarterback than Steezy Trev because of his stats. Here's one such example.

Bortles, the third overall pick in 2014, posted solid numbers during his first three seasons. However, saying he was a better quarterback than Lawrence is head-scratching. After all, the Jaguars did make the AFC Championship with him behind center but they got there on the strength of their defense.

Sure, the Jacksonville offense ranked fifth in points scored that year, but that was because the defense routinely gave them favorable field positions. Basically, Bortles did just enough to help the Jags not lose. Unfortunately, the front office thought he was a big reason for their success and gave him a three-year, $54 million extension. They soon came to regret it.

Less than a year after giving Bortles a new deal, Jacksonville benched Bortles. By 2019, they had given him the boot. If he had been franchise-caliber talent, they wouldn't have given up on him so quickly. The former UCF Knight spent a season as a backup with the Los Angeles Rams but was out of work by 2020.

Blake Bortles isn't in the same echelon as Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence

Most of these comparisons to Trevor Lawrence leave important context out. For instance, Blake Bortles put together good numbers in 2015. That year, he completed 58.6 percent of his passes for 4,428 yards with 35 touchdowns. What they don't tell you is that Jacksonville only racked up five wins and because they were trailing most of the time, Bortles was able to pad his numbers.

Meanwhile, Trevor Lawrence is a big reason the Jags have had two straight winning seasons, the first time they achieved the feat since 2004-2005. Back in 2022, he played at an elite level and had a huge role in the comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The former Clemson Tiger suffered a dropoff in production last year but he still played at a high level.

In fact, the Jags were 8-3 to start 2023. It wasn't until injuries exposed their overall lack of talent and depth that they began to cool off. Lawrence himself dealt with several injuries in the second half of the season. Had he stayed healthy, there's a strong chance Jacksonville would have made the playoffs. It's fair to say that Bortles wouldn't have been able to carry the team on his shoulders under the same circumstances.

Now, Bortles has a special place in Jaguars lore. He was a fan favorite and that's fine. You can like a player and at the same time recognize that he isn't/wasn't very good. That's Bortles' case. On the other hand, using him to make Trevor Lawrence like a lesser quarterback is puzzling. Simply put, there's no comparison.

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