Trevor Lawrence's performance sparks heated debate between Jaguars voices

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence recently made headlines because the Pittsburgh Steelers were supposedly engaged in serious talks with the Jacksonville Jaguars to trade for him. However, it all turned out to be noise. In the end, the Jags weren't going to move on from a franchise quarterback, regardless of how 2024. That said, you could make the case that No. 16 needs to play better. Jeff Prosser of 1010 XL agrees with that sentiment. Colleague Dan Hickens? Not so much.

1010 XL recently uploaded a clip in which Prosser compares Lawrence's early career to that of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford, pointing out that both landed in organizations that didn't do much to put them in a position to succeed.

"Trevor is in a similar situation to Matthew Stafford. He went to a dog bleep organization that messes it up at every turn. They draft, they roast some incredibly dumb draft picks, hires quarterback coaches that don't last," Prosser argued. "The same guy, Matthew Stafford would have ended his career, would not have been a Hall of Famer had he not gone to the Rams and won a Super Bowl. The same guy who all these years couldn't play a playoff game."

Hickens then points out that Stafford crossed the 5,000-yard mark in his third season while Lawrence had 4,016 yards. Prosser argues that he's just giving total yardage, to which Hickens responds that he can do touchdowns too.

The whole thing goes out of control soon, but Hickens ends the discussion by simply stating that Lawrence has to play better. Below is the full clip.

Like Lawrence, Stafford was a first overall selection. He spent his first 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions but only went to the playoffs three times. All three times, they didn't make it past the Wild Card round. It wasn't until the former Georgia product was traded to the Los Angeles Rams that he won a Super Bowl.

On the other hand, Lawrence made the playoffs in his second season and played a huge role in coming back from a 27-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Jags have failed to make the playoffs the last two years.

The Jaguars are failing Tevor Lawrence like the Lions failed Matthew Stafford

There's no doubt that Matthew Stafford had a better start to his career than Trevor Lawrence. That said, context is necessary. Early in his stint with the Detroit Lions, he was in a pass-happy offense and mostly threw to Hall-of-Fame receiver Calvin Johnson. That would pad his stats a bit. Then again, the former played enough to help his team win but wasn't given enough support. Something similar has happened with Trevor Lawrence during his first four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

As Jeff Prosser stated, the Jags have hired three head coaches since they acquired Lawrence, and many of their draft picks have been blunders. Then again, Dan Hickens is also right: The former Clemson Tiger must also play better. Granted, he's not the sole reason Jacksonville has missed the playoffs the past two years, but his play most definitely left a bit to be desired last year.

Before Lawrence suffered a labrum injury, his mechanics and decision-making weren't great. In his defense, the coaching he was getting was inadequate, and the playcalling was dreadful. That said, the best quarterbacks manage to put the whole team on their shoulders and find a way to win. The Knoxville, Tennessee native didn't do it in 2024.

The silver lining is that the Jags hired Liam Coen as the head coach, and he'll be tasked with putting Trevor Lawrence in a position to succeed. He did it with Baker Mayfield last year. He should pull it off in Duval.

The bottom line is that both Prosser and Hickens are both right. The Jags need to better support Lawrence and he in turn has to play a bit better. The great news is that he's just getting started and he's talented enough to make you think that one day, he can win it all like Matthew Stafford did.

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