With the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jaguars select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence….
Trevor Lawrence Career Statistics
| YEAR | AGE | ATT | COMP | COMP% | PAYD | Y/A | PATD | INT | RUYDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 19.2 | 397 | 259 | 65.24% | 3280 | 8.3 | 30 | 4 | 177 |
| 2019 | 20.2 | 407 | 268 | 65.85% | 3665 | 9 | 36 | 8 | 563 |
| 2020 | 21.2 | 334 | 231 | 69.16% | 3153 | 9.4 | 24 | 5 | 203 |
Three years of buildup and fanbases calling for their teams to “tank for Trevor” have finally reached their crescendo. Lawrence has followed DeShaun Watson, breaking all of Watson’s records at Cartersville High School and then leading Clemson to multiple championship appearances.
Lawrence started 15 games as a freshman in 2018, completing 65.2% of his passes for 8.3 yards per attempt with a 30-to-4 touchdown to interception ratio, closing that age 19 season down by throwing for 347 yards (10.8 Y/A) and three touchdowns against Alabama.
From that point on, Lawrence raised his completion rate, yards per pass attempt, and adjusted Y/A (which factors in TD/INT rate) in each of the following two seasons. For his career in the red zone, Lawrence connected on 51 touchdowns to just three interceptions.
No stranger to playing in big games, Lawrence appeared in five college playoffs games in three seasons, throwing for 8.3 Y/A with 10 touchdowns and one interception in those games to go along with three rushing scores.
If you were making a quarterback in a lab, he would look like Lawrence. At his pro day this offseason, Lawrence checked in at 6’6” with 10” hands for you hand model scouts out there.
Not only paired with a stellar passing resume, Lawrence is also no slouch in athleticism, either. While he does not have the rushing resume of other top players in this class, Lawrence is still in the 56th percentile in career rushing output for all prospects since 2000. Lawrence added 177, 563, and 203 rushing yards over his three seasons at Clemson with 18 touchdowns on the ground. Playing under Urban Meyer, Lawrence’s athleticism should be a component of the offense.
In 2020, the Jaguars were 27th in the NFL in expected points added via their passing game in 2020 (3.9 points), 27th in yards per pass attempt (6.4 yards), and 29th in yards per completed pass (10.2 yards). They ran through multiple starts from Gardner Minshew, Mike Glennon, and Jake Luton over the course of the season.
There is some talent here at wide receiver (and surely the Jaguars are not done adding pass catchers in this draft).
Not much went right for D.J. Chark in 2020. He missed three games to injury and saw his receptions per game (4.1), yardage per game (54.3), catch rate (57.0%) and touchdowns (five) all decline from his 2019 breakout. Dating back to midseason of 2019, just seven games over that span reached 60 yards over his past 23 games played. On the positive end, Chark was fourth in the NFL in air yards per game (100.2).
2020 second-rounder Laviska Shenault had a productive rookie campaign, catching 58-of-79 targets for 600 yards and five touchdowns while tacking on 91 yards on the ground. Shenault’s 1.55 yards per route run exceeded D.J. Chark (1.48) in 2020.
Jacksonville also added Marvin Jones this offseason. At age 30, Jones appeared in all 16 games for the first time since 2017, securing 76-of-115 targets for 978 yards and nine touchdowns. Jones just turned 31 in March, but has always shown scoring upside with nine receiving touchdowns in three of his past four seasons. Reuniting with Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was with the Lions the previous two seasons, Jones shares a similar overlap in usage to Chark, but offers that scoring upside.
Early 2021 Trevor Lawrence Projection: 397-of-612 (64.9%), 4,400 yards, 27 TD, 14 INT, 52 carries, 241 yards, 2 TD
