One of the biggest reasons the Jacksonville Jaguars went 13-4 last year was that Trevor Lawrence bounced back from an injury-marred 2024 and went on to play at an MVP level to end the season. The next step for him will be to show that he wasn't a one-year wonder and that his impressive 2025 was the sign of things to come rather than an outlier.
An NFL analyst believes Lawrence will pull it off, which is why he included him on a very exclusive list.
The Jaguars could have a potential MVP candidate in Trevor Lawrence
Lou Scataglia of NFL Spin Zone drew up a list of potential first-time MVP candidates next season and included Trevor Lawrence at No. 5, arguing that he could build off of his strong finish to 2025. Here's the skinny.
"Trevor Lawrence ended the 2025 season as an MVP candidate for the Jacksonville Jaguars, so he got into the conversation," Scataglia wrote. "If Lawrence can build on how he ended the 2025 campaign, he could sustain a full-MVP-caliber season for 2026. Losing Travis Etienne in free agency does hurt, but Lawrence may finally have some stability for the first time in his career."
For context, Lawrence finished fifth in MVP voting last year. He completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 4,007 yards and a career-best 28 passing touchdowns. On top of that, No. 16 had nine rushing touchdowns. Matthew Stafford ended up winning the award, and Drake Maye finished second, with Josh Allen and Christian McCaffrey also getting votes.
And in case you were wondering, Lawrence landed above running back Bijan Robinson and fellow quarterback Bo Nix on NFL Spin Zone's list of first-time MVP candidates. Joe Burrow seized the top spot, Maye was the runner-up, while Jared Goff and Sam Darnold popped up at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
The truth is that the race will be wide open when you take into account that Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and all the usual suspects will also be in the mix. Thus, Lawrence will have to take his game to the next level to truly have a chance at earning MVP honors. Having said that, he should feel good about his chances for a handful of reasons.
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The Jaguars are putting Trevor Lawrence in a position to win MVP honors
Lawrence entered a make-or-break season in 2025 and had several things going against him. For starters, he was recovering from a shoulder injury that cut his 2024 campaign short. Moreover, it was No. 16's first year in head coach Liam Coen's system, the most complex he had been in throughout his NFL career. Compounding the issue was that he had to tweak his footwork during the offseason.
When you add it all up, Lawrence had an uphill battle to show that he was the long-term answer behind center in Jacksonville. But against all odds, he pulled it off. Granted, it wasn't always easy. In fact, the Knoxville, Tennessee native caught a lot of heat for a slow start to the season. But he eventually turned the corner and finished the year on a hot streak.
Lawrence doesn't have to rehab this offseason, so he can fully focus on getting an even stronger grasp of Coen's scheme. Similarly, most of his supporting cast is back, which will help him increase his rapport.
Simply put, the table is set for Trevor Lawrence to make a bid for the MVP award. That will only help the Jaguars pick up where they left off last season.
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