Even though Trevor Lawrence has played well at times, he hasn't been consistent enough throughout his career. Sure, football is a team sport, but he plays the position that has the biggest impact on the outcome of the game. If the Jacksonville Jaguars want to make a playoff push in 2025, they'll need him to put it all together. This begs the question: What's stopping him from doing so? An NFL analyst shared one theory.
Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Media argued that Lawrence has underachieved in the NFL, pointing out that he's lacked consistency throughout his career.
"Look, all of Lawrence's career, I've been a little underwhelmed, and not just because he came into the league with so much hype, but that he's just never been consistent," Rosenthal told guest Benjamin Solak on the NFL Daily podcast (17:50 mark). "And that's what I want, like someone that is a completely consistent thrower of the football in terms of his accuracy. Even his best moments of his career.
Rosenthal continued, "I think maybe the best moment is that second-half comeback against the Chargers. Yeah, well, the first half of that game, he throws four interceptions. And to me, that's kind of typical of his career. If you remember last season, like the first couple of weeks were rough, and then he bounces back for a little bit, and it's just not there on a week-to-week basis for me.
Solak rightly points out that having Urban Meyer and Doug Pederson as his head coaches hasn't precisely helped Lawrence.
"I think that we cannot discount just how much of a false start out of the gate the Urban Meyer year was from a development perspective, from a leadership perspective, for your locker room, confident I can do this at the NFL level. And then the Doug Peterson years, which, Doug doesn't have the bad name that Urban did, but from an execution on field perspective, there was a lot that was left to be desired there, Solak noted.
This leads Rosenthal to wonder if Lawrence may not be putting in the necessary work outside of practice to reach his potential.
"Ok, so it's a tricky thing to talk about, because I hate it. I hate those sort of reports when it doesn't feel fair. But since he's been in the league, I have heard whispers about that from people that have been around that team and would have more of a place to have knowledge about it, and because you do wonder what is stopping this guy and right all the quarterbacks at the top of the game like it's almost understood that they're absolutely maniacal in their preparation and in their intelligence on field, And that sometimes takes a while to get there, Rosenthal said.
He then used former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberg as an example of a quarterback who didn't prepare well early in his NFL career.
"I don't think Ben Roethlisberger, for instance — I always point him out — was that guy early in his career, he became that guy. And so maybe Trevor Lawrence is just a little younger and a little further behind the developmental track. But when I think about maybe what's gotten in the way for him maybe his off-field, whether it's preparation or just learning the game enough, and that takes being in the NFL. Maybe that's just what's prevented him from getting 10% 15% better and being the guy."
Lawrence has certainly shown that he can play at a high level, but he's struggled with injuries the past two years. Moreover, his mechanics and decision-making left a bit to be desired in 2024. This is a long-winded way to say that aside from help and better coaching, he could indeed be missing something to hit his stride.
Trevor Lawrence must come through for the Jaguars regardless of what's holding him back
It's very important to point out that Gregg Rosenthal isn't questioning whether Trevor Lawrence is going full speed or giving his all in practice. That's never been an issue. Sure, he's struggled at times, but he's not the kind of player who takes reps off.
Instead, Rosenthal is asking whether Lawrence's off-field prep is optimal, and he might have a point. Nobody knows what players do once they go home, but as he stated on his podcast, quarterbacks are control freaks, and the best ones spend an immense amount of time studying. We don't know if the former Clemson Tiger is doing it.
But even if Lawrence does spend lots of time studying, Benjamin Solak is right that the fifth-year quarterback hasn't truly had, until now, a head coach who can properly help him put in the off-field work to be the best.
Rosenthal isn't stating facts but rather trying to figure out what's preventing Trevor Lawrence from being consistent. Working in his favor is that the new regime is doing everything it can to put him in a position to succeed.
Already, the Jaguars have upgraded Lawrence's supporting cast, while head coach Liam Coen has worked one-on-one with him to help him fix his mechanics. Don't you think he'll ask him how he studies and offer suggestions and tweaks?
Ultimately, no one knows how Trevor Lawrence prepares, but if he bounces back next season, making changes to his preparation could be a big reason.
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