Last 12 months’s draft had many fans excited attributable to the quarterback talent it included. The Jacksonville Jaguars were aware greater than any team because they held the No. 1 overall pick and used it on Trevor Lawrence, who was widely considered the highest prospect within the draft.
After Lawrence was chosen, 4 other quarterbacks were chosen in the primary round in Mac Jones, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Zach Wilson. There was also one other rookie quarterback taken within the AFC South who received a whole lot of playtime, too, in third-rounder Davis Mills.
Heading into 2022, there are high hopes for every of the aforementioned quarterbacks from the 2021 class, as several of them might be starters again. That said, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler took on the duty to rank them heading into this season by garnering the thoughts of multiple NFL coaches and scouts.
Despite a rough rookie 12 months where he needed to cope with a dysfunctional environment, Lawrence ranked first among the many group as executives expressed confidence in his ability to bounce back. One scout told Fowler that the upcoming season could be Lawrence’s true rookie 12 months because of having a traditional workspace and that the personnel and schematic pieces are actually there for him to take a step.
“This might be like his true rookie 12 months,” said one AFC scout. “Hopefully not too many everlasting scars from last 12 months.”
“He didn’t have a probability last 12 months,” the scout told Fowler. “But having [coach] Doug [Pederson] and recent weapons will help him a ton. He needs support, each in personnel and schematically, after which the natural ability can take over. He must have that now.”
The Jags fired Urban Meyer last December as he wasn’t cut out for the NFL and didn’t understand the sport like he must have, especially when it got here to his players. Then over a month later, they hired a former Super Bowl-winning coach in Doug Pederson, who has a a lot better understanding of the players attributable to being a former player himself.
As for the roster additions, the Jags were super busy this offseason spending probably the most money in NFL free agency history. That included signing notable receivers for the offense like Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, in addition to former All-Pro guard Brandon Scherff and tight end Evan Engram.
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While not one of the aforementioned expert players are elite playmakers, they definitely are upgrades that Pederson can work with. In spite of everything, he didn’t have a bunch of elite names on his 2017 Super Bowl-winning roster but was in a position to mold them into an offensive powerhouse.
Fowler’s survey also had some executives who questioned Lawrence’s ability, with one coach stating that he expected more from the previous Clemson star in 2021.
“I didn’t necessarily see a transcendent talent from him,” one NFL coach said. [He] didn’t look as explosive throwing or on the move as I expected.”
No matter his doubters within the league, all that matters is that Pederson believes in Lawrence. That’s clearly the case, as Lawrence was a giant draw within the Jags’ coaching search.
One other positive is that Pederson is a coach who is a component of the most well liked offensive coaching tree within the NFL right away, and that tree is the Andy Reid tree. When taking a look at the success the tree has had with Patrick Mahomes, Alex Smith, and others, Jags fans should trust that their franchise signal-caller is in good hands.
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