Trevor Lawrence’s 2021 season was far from ideal as the team didn’t do much right around him, including pairing him with the right head coach. However, many expect him to improve quite a bit with new coach Doug Pederson in the building, who has more experience in the NFL than the man he’s replacing in Urban Meyer.
Some have been skeptical about how much progress the second-year player will make, though, like NBC Sports’ Chris Simms. In his annual quarterback rankings, he placed Lawrence at the 24th spot, right behind two other 2021 first-round quarterbacks in Justin Fields (No. 23) and Zach Wilson (No. 22), respectively.
The quarterback countdown rolls on! 👀
QBs No. 21 to 25 ranked by @CSimmsQB. #NFL pic.twitter.com/pMFmCktMeE
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) May 26, 2022
These rankings come after none of the three aforementioned rookie quarterbacks had a first season to write home about. That left New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones as the lone standout quarterback from the first round and he has yet to be listed by Simms.
However, when Jones is added, it appears he also will be ahead of Lawrence, which would make the Jags’ QB1 the fourth-ranked first-round quarterback from last season. That will also make Trey Lance (No. 31), the lone 2021 first-round signal-caller to rank behind Lawrence.
With a dysfunctional situation around him, Lawrence only completed 59.6% (359-of-602) of his passes last season for 3,641 yards through the air. He also accumulated 12 touchdowns and 17 picks along the way.
However, the Jags added weapons around Lawrence this offseason who should help tremendously, in addition to having Pederson as a head coach. The notable players who the team brought in who could help Lawrence include receiver Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, tight end Evan Engram, and offensive linemen Brandon Scherff and Luke Fortner.
When discussing Lawrence’s placement on the list, Sims said it boiled down to the fact that Lawrence didn’t consistently wow him as the other rookie quarterbacks did. He also said that Lawrence’s throwing mechanics were too inconsistent for his liking.
With better coaches around Lawrence in Pederson and quarterback coach Mike McCoy, these are things Lawrence should improve on in 2022. If those improvements come and remain consistent, Lawrence should be able to surpass some of the other 2021 first-round quarterbacks on Simms’ list, but most importantly, he should be able to double the Jags’ win total or maybe even reach the seven to eight-win mark.
