Will Trevor Lawrence be the most productive rookie QB of 2021?
When Roger Goodell read Trevor Lawrence's name as the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, it was the most predictable first pick in years. Now, months on from that moment, the NFL is speeding toward the beginning of Lawrence's first season.
How will the young rookie do? Will he be the most productive rookie quarterback of 2021?
Trevor Lawrence's history in a new system
Looking back at his college stats, it seems that Lawrence is not afraid to come out in a career firing on all cylinders. In his freshman season at Clemson, he played 15 games. In those games, he completed 65.2 percent of his passes and threw for 3280 yards, 30 touchdowns and four interceptions. As a freshman, his performance was incredible.
While the jump from high school to college is not as difficult as the jump from college to the NFL, it is still a culture shock. To be able to learn a new system with all new players and perform at a near-perfect level is a remarkable accomplishment. it says something about his process. He had a process to learn new material quickly and put it into action.
While the jump from college to the NFL is much larger than the jump from high school to college, Lawrence has shown that he has been able to adapt quickly to change up to this point. If any rookie quarterback is prepared to adapt to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the NFL as a whole, it is Trevor Lawrence.
Trevor Lawrence in the NFL
Of course, it is not entirely up to Trevor Lawrence if he succeeds. Plenty of hyped-up quarterbacks land with a bottom-tier franchise and slowly wash out of the league.
Unfortunately for Lawrence, he has a lot working against him. He is playing for a rookie head coach in Urban Meyer. Urban Meyer has had plenty of success in college, but the NFL is a different game.
NFL coaches have less control over their players than college coaches. NFL coaches have to be much more tactful when talking to the players whereas college coaches' word is law.
If Urban Meyer's transition is anything less than smooth, the whole operation will become impaired. Impaired teams fall apart during the season.
Currently, there are a lot of distractions on the team as well. The team signed Tim Tebow as a tight end and still has Gardner Minshew on the roster. These are two powder kegs that could create a lot of problems for the Jaguars. Tim Tebow's clout could clog up the locker room as the low-stringed player gets more attention than the starting tight end.
At the same time, Gardner Minshew is one of the most distracting players in the NFL with his haircuts and personality. Urban Meyer needs to address these problems before the team can achieve the level of focus required to be a force in the NFL.
Lastly, Jacksonville's roster is a mess and facing a high-rate of turnovers. The Jaguars currently have the fourth youngest roster in the NFL, according to nfltraderumors. This is because the team has not had many draft picks turn out to be good enough to keep around for long. This has resulted in a roster that is lacking talent in too many positions.
It seems that the team will not have too many weapons for Trevor Lawrence to throw to. If this is the case, it will limit his ability to be productive in the NFL.
Trevor Lawrence needs a lot to go his way in the next several months in order to put together a strong rookie season that could compete to be the best rookie season of the year. He needs Urban Meyer to work out well and he needs the distractions to cease. He also needs the roster to play like a veteran squad. Entering a season with that many questions usually leads to a rough rookie outing.
If Trevor Lawrence has a good rookie season, it will be because of him and him alone.