Back in April during the 2021 NFL Draft, we heard plenty about Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick who was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
There were superlatives and comparisons.
“There’s no drama or debate here, but don’t let that distract from just how cool this is and how special this is. Because that is what Trevor Lawrence is, special. He is one of the greatest quarterback prospects in NFL draft history following the likes of John Elway and Andrew Luck…Lawrence is dreamy, and he can and will do it all…This is going to be the combo that leads Jacksonville out of the wilderness. It’s a Super Bowl combo.”
"It's all about Trevor Lawrence teamed with Urban Meyer. This is going to be the combo that leads Jacksonville out of the wilderness. It's a Super Bowl combo." – @AdamSchein pic.twitter.com/fqe2wfGZ6O
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) April 28, 2021
To his credit, Schein did not say it would happen immediately.
However, there was an expectation that because Lawrence had a career of winning since he began throwing a football as a kid, he was the most NFL-ready.
This is why they actually play the 17-game season because predictions are not always true.
In Lawrence’s case, he is experiencing the typical issues of a rookie No. 1 overall pick.
Lawrence’s Interception Problem
To be fair, the team possessing the No. 1 overall pick has many issues at all positions.
Otherwise, it would not have the pick.
Lawrence joins a team that has only three seasons with a record above .500 in this millennium.
This means he and rookie head coach Urban Meyer inherited a lot of problems.
But Lawrence’s performance is not helping the cause.
He has more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (9).
His team is 2-10 on the season.
A Rookie Throwing Interceptions Is Not Unusual
There was another rookie quarterback who threw a lot of interceptions in his first NFL season.
He is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is a two-time Super Bowl champion.
He is Peyton Manning.
Manning threw 26 touchdowns and 28 interceptions in 1998.
He never threw that many again in during the rest of his 17 year career.
At the Masters earlier this month, former No. 1 pick Peyton Manning told this year’s No. 1 pick, new Jaguars’ QB Trevor Lawrence, that Urban Meyer needs to play him every play of every game so that he can break his record – his record for most interceptions by a rookie (28).
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 30, 2021
Conclusion
Many are speculating on why it is that Lawrence’s leap up the learning curve is slower than expected.
Even “generational” prospects are usually not immune to bad landing spots.
The Jaguars have done a terrible job of developing Trevor Lawrence during his rookie season. Simply unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/SdhE17Vtdo
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) December 6, 2021
NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks attributes it to the rookie quarterback and rookie coach combination.
“Lawrence did not step into an organization with a winning pedigree or an established blueprint for developing a franchise quarterback. In addition, the team is being led by a longtime college coach who had no prior NFL experience. That is not a jab at Urban Meyer, but the rookie head coach is still adjusting to a game vastly different from the college football landscape that he dominated for the better part of two decades.”
This means that Jaguars fans need to be patient because the best is yet to come.
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