Trevor Lawrence Shows Highs And Lows In Week 1 Debut
There was no way that the Jacksonville Jaguars would pass up on Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft.
He was the most polished prospect among all the quarterbacks, and he has the record to back it up.
In his rookie season, Lawrence won a national championship with the Clemson Tigers and was named ACC Rookie of the Year.
Two years later, he became the conference’s Player of the Year and a first-team All-American.
He is a proven winner, and that’s why the Jaguars have high hopes for him.
Unfortunately, turning Jacksonville’s fate is no easy task.
They won just one game last season, and the hard cap restricts college-like recruitment.
But the Jaguars would like to erase the disappointing memory of 2020 by naming Lawrence as the team’s starter over Gardner Minshew.
The Georgia native had his first NFL start against the Houston Texans.
It was a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde performance, quite frankly.
There were moments of brilliance and head-scratching decisions from the 21-year-old quarterback.
In the end, the Jaguars dropped their season opener, 37-21.
This loss drops the debut records of top overall picked quarterbacks since 2003 to 0-13-1.
Ironically, David Carr won his first NFL game as Houston’s number one draft choice in 2002.
Lawrence finished the game with 28 completions for 332 yards and three touchdowns.
Looking at those numbers will make him look like a seasoned quarterback.
Sadly, his three interceptions indicate that he also has much left to learn.
In the late second quarter, his first interception came when he threw a pass for Laviska Shenault, but Justin Reid took it away.
In their succeeding sequence, Vernon Hargreaves jumped into DJ Chark’s route to take the ball.
Shenault was the intended receiver for the third interception, but Christian Kirksey took the ball.
The Learning Process Starts
Lawrence could get away with some mistakes that led to interceptions if he was still playing in Clemson.
But the NFL is a different beast wherein the game, and the players, are faster and fiercer.
Lawrence threw his first pick while scrambling out of the pocket to his left.
He forced a pass through the defenders, which led to a pick.
Meanwhile, Lawrence must also learn to hide his intentions at first by looking off his intended receiver.
Hargreaves knew where the ball was going based on Lawrence’s reading of the field.
Masking his intention will help fool the defenders who have seen every conceivable offensive formation there is.
Therefore, creating an illusion against them will make the play work.
Looking away from his target can throw off the defender’s timing.
Likewise, his accuracy needs improvement because it took him 51 attempts to complete 28 passes.
Other than those observations, Lawrence gave a solid performance.
His 332 passing yards ranked fourth among quarterback debuts.
Lawrence’s first NFL touchdown pass was an impressive 22-yard strike to tight end Chris Manhertz.
He then showed his arm strength by completing a 41-yard touchdown pass to Chark off play action.
The command of Urban Meyer’s offense is there, but Lawrence must make it look less predictable.
If Lawrence can polish his game further before their Week 2 clash with the Denver Broncos on their home turf, things will be looking good for the Jaguars.
