Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

Hello everybody and welcome to the first pick of the 2021 BGN Community Mock Draft. “With the first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft the Jacksonville Jaguars select Trevor Lawrence QB Clemson.” What a shocker!!

Now dear reader you might be asking yourself: “Phoenix, what makes Trevor Lawrence stand out from the likes of Trey Lance, Justin Fields, and Zach Wilson?” Well, I am glad you asked dear reader. This is what this article is going to be all about. Let us start with comparing Lawrence and Zach Wilson the 2 top QBs on the board.

Comparing QBs: Lawrence v. Zach Wilson

Zach Wilson’s hype seems to stand from his great junior year. His previous years were good but nothing spectacular. In 2018 Wilson completed 66% of his passes for 1,578 yards with 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. In 2019, He completed 62% of his passes for 2,382 yards with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. As you can see those 2 years were good but nothing spectacular. However, in his one-year wonder in 2020 he outperformed those previous 2 years by completing 74% of his passes for 3,692 yards with 33 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. Outstanding according to my estimates. These stats allowed Wilson to cruise by his opponents except for Coastal Carolina.

Now, let us compare that to Trevor Lawrence. In 2018, Trevor became the starting QB over Kelly Bryant and he started his college football dominance by completing 65% of his passes for 3,280 yards with 30 TDs and 4 INTs. Lawrence then closed it out by beating Alabama in the National Championship Game. In 2018 alone Lawrence scored 18 more TDs, had 1,702 more yards, 1 more interception, and completed 1% less of his passes. He outperformed Wilson heavily. Same story for 2019, Trevor after having his Clemson lose a ton of talent including their elite defensive line put up great stats: He completed 66% of his passes for 3,665 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. Lawrence also ran for 563 yards and nine touchdowns. Once again outperforming Wilson.

It is pretty clear to me that Lawrence is superior to Zach Wilson. While the stats show that Wilson had the season as Lawrence completed 69% of his passes for 3,153 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions all of them less to the stats Wilson put it. While 2020 was Zach Wilson’s year Lawrence had the better overall college football career as he was dominant for all of those years.

Analysis

I believe that Trevor Lawrence is one of the best QBs to hit the draft since Andrew Luck. Lawrence is the complete package for the NFL. He possesses good size, a powerful accurate arm, and elite running ability.

A trait of Lawrence’s that makes him unique and rare compared to other prospects is his deep-ball accuracy. He put on a masterful job of locating his passes downfield for a multitude of receivers to beat coverage and lead his weapons to huge plays. With his cannon of an arm and his accuracy passing deep downfield, defenses can’t crowd the box, as Trevor will make the defense pay. Trevor’s passing ability could really open things up for the rushing attack in the NFL and will lead to tons of success for his team that does not show up in his own stats.

Fit

Trevor Lawrence is a great fit for any type of NFL offense because his cannon of an arm allows him to work in a vertical offense and his precision on short passes and his ability to get the ball out fast lets him fit in a West Coast system. Trevor has a fast release and fast arm whip. His mental clock is highly advanced as well, letting him get the ball out quickly and not put extra pressure on his O-line. When time is allowed, Trevor would demonstrate the patience to let routes develop, and he does not panic if his first read was not available and was covered. Trevor is calm and collected in the pocket and is capable of being both a mobile QB and a pocket passer.

Player comparison

Now, we all know that when it comes to players being drafted, we all like to compare the draft prospect to an NFL player. However, Trevor Lawrence really has no comparison and I mean that in the best possible way. He is in a league of his own. The closest comparison I could find is Ryan Tannehill. He could be a better version of the Titans and former Dolphins QB. Keep in mind that Tannehill is a great athlete and played WR at Texas A&M.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars have an obvious need for a QB. They went 1-15 last year. Among the many problems the Jaguars had last year, it was bad QB play. Heading into the draft the Jaguars have these 3 men at QB: C.J Beathard, Jake Luton, and Minshew Mania himself Gardner Minshew. All 3 of these QBs are not exactly. Minshew himself is very inconsistent. He was a couple of games where he looks like the QB Jacksonville needs and other games where he looks absolute garbage. The Jaguars despite the popularity of Minshew can do much better and Trevor Lawrence is an instant starter for the Jaguars. Plus, Lawrence can work with guys like D.J Chark, James Robinson, Phillip Dorsett, and Carlos Hyde.

He gets to work with a guy very familiar with the college game being a former college football coach and network analyst: Urban Meyer. I think with Meyer’s familiarity with the college game that he has seen tons of tape on Lawrence since he has been the most popular college football QB for a while now. Thus, would know how to tailor the offense to Lawrence’s strengths the many that they are. Plus, that would give them the motivation to select him with the first overall pick. The only downside I can see is Meyer’s lack of experience in the NFL level having coached solely college football for 99% of his career.

Conclusion

It is my conclusion that Trevor Lawrence will excel at both the College-Level and the NFL-Level. Lawrence has all the skills needed to thrive at the NFL level as previously stated above. He is a generational talent and in my opinion, is next to Andrew Luck as one of the league’s most hyped prospects coming out of college. Both deserve/deserved such praise. From his deep-ball accuracy to his fit in several systems. He can be the next Patrick Mahomes. For the sake of this review, I hope I am right.

Goodbye Bleeding Green Nation see you in 2022!!

2021 BGN Mock Draft Order

1) Jaguars (Phoenix X Minimus): QB Trevor Lawrence
2) Jets (eagles.north.of.the.border):
3) 49ers (I Need a Username):
4) Falcons (chewy wellington):
5) Bengals (Dr_Horrible):
6) Dolphins (20Safety_Hazard):
7) Lions (drc242):
8) Panthers (wildcatlh):
9) Broncos (ItownBallers22):
10) Cowboys (Kephas):
11) Giants (Billmington):
12) Eagles (ablesser88):
13) Chargers (Georgia_eagle):
14) Vikings (Philliesandthebees):
15) Patriots (SakPrescott):
16) Cardinals (Carson Wentzs ACL):
17) Raiders (dshelton5):
18) Dolphins (YvngMartial):
19) Football Team (Negadelphia Norm):
20) Bears (Happy24):
21) Colts (CSsdV):
22) Titans (Friendly Neighborhood Philly Fan):
23) Jets (Asap Stocky):
24) Steelers (Gregnado):
25) Jaguars (“Snax”):
26) Browns (gerouxman1956):
27) Ravens (Brendanekstrom):
28) Saints (grantspectations):
29) Packers (Philly_Philly):
30) Bills (doublefry):
31) Chiefs (Leo Bedio):
32) Buccaneers (phuckdallas):

Now it’s time for you to vote for who YOU think should be selected in the 2021 BGN Community Consensus Mock Draft.