Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is one of the few players in the NFL who understands the pressure associated with being the first overall draft pick. The Jaguars spent the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on him.
The franchise will have that honor again in this year’s draft, and Lawrence believes he should be able to provide advice for the pending No. 1 pick after enduring a rough rookie campaign himself.
Not many top picks had as much on their plate as Lawrence did last season. He endured the Urban Meyer debacle. His former head coach will unquestionably go down as one of the worst hires in NFL history. Because of that adversity he faced, Lawrence has some valuable insight to provide the next player who will be in his shoes in terms of where he is picked.
“Well I’m sure whoever it is, once he gets here, I can help him a little bit,” Lawrence said on Tuesday. “Obviously, I had a lot of (adversity). I don’t know if you could come up with more challenges besides getting injured your rookie year than we had, so I’m sure I could give a little bit of advice.”
It’s not clear who the Jaguars will select like it was when Jacksonville had the top pick last year. They could take Michigan edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who’s the presumed favorite, or take Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker.
Jacksonville could also go offense with Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal or North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu. Lawrence’s advice won’t change regardless of who it picks.
“I think just coming in and some of the stuff, like I said, when I got here last year was just coming in earning the respect of your teammates,” he said. “That’s stuff you can do that it doesn’t take any talent, it doesn’t take any skill. You just come in and do things the right way, treat people right. I think that’s going to be big and then really just buy into what we’re trying to make the culture here. I think coach (Doug) Pederson has a clear vision of that, the whole staff does. Now it’s getting all of the players on board and we’re going to do that.
“Last year we bought in, too. So, it’s having the right guys in place and all of us buying in, that’s what it takes and I’m confident we’re going to do that. So, whoever it is, that’s truly all you have to do. Your play on the field is going to speak for itself and obviously you have to perform. It’s about performance. Same thing for me, I have to play better next year. ”
It seems regardless of who the Jags pick between the aforementioned names, they will be getting a player with similar leadership qualities to Lawrence. None of the four front-runners seemed to have issues in the locker room with their teammates and are coming from big programs where their leadership was put to the test. With that being the case, it will come down to translating to the NFL, but there are plenty of coaches on Pederson’s staff that can help the No. 1 pick make that happen.
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