Are the Jaguars Failing Lawrence? Comparing Trevor Lawrence & Andrew Luck

Urban Meyer’s & The Jaguars’ Failures

The Jacksonville Jaguars mercifully fired Urban Meyer, a bully masquerading as a leader after his boorish behavior was impossible for the Jaguars’ ownership to ignore after 13 miserable games. This got me thinking is Jacksonville already on course to ruin Trevor Lawrence, a generational quarterback talent that the NFL hasn’t seen since Andrew Luck entered the NFL in 2012.

As the starter at Clemson University from 2018-2020, Lawrence threw for 10,098 yards, 90 touchdowns, completed 66.6% of his passes with a 164.3 quarterback rating. He led the Tigers to a National Championship and multiple College Football Playoff appearances. Lawrence was without a doubt the consensus number one overall prospect in the 2021 draft and the Jaguars were the fortunate team to select him.

The Jaguars are averaging 302.6 total yards of offense per game ranking them 30th in the league and scoring 14 points per game which ranks them last in the NFL. They’ve scored over 20 points in three games this season.

Jacksonville is 2-12 and now being coached by long-time NFL offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. The Jaguars’ passing attack is averaging 199.6 yards per game, which ranks 27th in the NFL. Trevor Lawrence has started all 14 games for the Jaguars in 2021 throwing for 2,945 yards, nine touchdowns, 14 interceptions, completing 58.1% of his passes, and being sacked 28 times.

Comparing Lawrence & Luck

In his rookie season with the Indianapolis Colts, Andrew Luck was coached by Chuck Pagano, a well-respected assistant coach in the NFL for years. The number one overall pick in 2012, led the Colts to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance. He threw for 4,374 yards, 23 touchdowns, 18 interceptions, completed 54.1% of his passes with a 65.6 QBR. His top receiver was six-time Pro Bowler Reggie Wayne who had 106 receptions for 1,355 yards and five touchdowns. T.Y. Hilton led the team with eight touchdown catches. Unfortunately, Luck was not lucky as he was sacked 41 times which was a precursor of what was to come for most of his career as a Colt.

Ultimately injuries and years of being pounded into the ground due to Indianapolis’s poor offensive lines forced Luck to abruptly retire prior to the 2019 season. In his career, he led the Colts to the playoffs four times, including one AFC Championship game appearance (2014 season), threw for 23,671 yards, 171 touchdowns while completing 60.8% of his passes. Additionally, he was a four-time Pro Bowler and 2018 Comeback Player of the Year.

On offense, Lawrence has limited weapons on offense. Jacksonville had selected Lawrence’s Clemson teammate Travis Etienne in the first round to be one of the team’s main offensive weapons. But Etienne suffered a Lisfranc injury to his left foot in training camp that forced him to miss all the season. Jacksonville’s most dangerous player on offense, running back James Robinson, who rushed for 1,070 yards last season, has been used poorly and was mysteriously benched by former head coach Urban Meyer. Robinson has rushed for 757 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games this season. The prized rookie has competent receivers, but nobody that truly stands out. His top receiver this season are Marvin Jones, 56 catches for 624 yards with three touchdowns and Laviska Shenault Jr., 56 receptions for 544 yards.

Indianapolis wasted having a generational talent in Andrew Luck by not building around him properly. He should have been regarded as an all-time great with multiple Super Bowl championships and waltzing into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Instead, he should be a cautionary tale in how to handle a generational talent.

For Trevor Lawrence’s sake I hope Jacksonville will look at how Indianapolis failed to build properly around their franchise quarterback.