Nobody batted an eye when the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence in 2021 because he was dubbed a generational talent coming out of Clemson. Heck, any other team would've selected him if they had had the top pick.
However, Lawrence is now in the fifth year of his NFL career and has yet to live up to expectations. Similarly, he hasn't stacked up favorably against the quarterback he was compared to: Andrew Luck.
The good news is that the Jags hired Liam Coen to get the most out of No. 16, and an NFL voice believes he's going to pull it off.
The Jaguars hired Liam Coen to get the most out of Trevor Lawrence
Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson did a preview of the 2025 Jaguars and believe that Liam Coen will get Trevor Lawrence to play at a high level, citing his successful track record as a quarterback whisperer.
"In football, we always like to look for this A/B analysis, and when it comes to quarterback and their coaches," Palazzolo said on the Check the Mic podcast (2;41 mark). "When the quarterback was with this coach, he got good results. When he was with this coach, he got bad results. Therefore, blame the coach, or the quarterback, or whoever was the driver. Liam Coen, I believe at this point, has elevated every quarterback."
Palazzolo then brings up Will Levis, Baker Mayfield, and Matthew Stafford as examples of quarterbacks who either struggled or didn't put it all together until they played for Coen.
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Could Trevor Lawrence become the Jaguars' own Andrew Luck?
Later in the exchange, Steve Palazzolo said that he never liked the generational-talent moniker but believed that he had the tools to succeed, and it's not too late, citing Andrew Luck's career arc as an example. Here's the skinny.
"Andrew Luck, he was like a high-70s PFF-graded quarterback for a while with some high-end plays, volatility to his game. I think there was a lot of pressure on Luck, the way the scheme was set for him. So maybe the grades never really did him justice, and he was better than that. But Trevor Lawrence, since his rough rookie season, which, you know, rookies have, he's been a high 70s PFF-graded quarterback. And if his career was going to coincide with Luck, it was right around Year 5 or 6."
"Luck had a bad injury-riddled 2015 season. He played, actually, his worst football. And then it was 2016, Year 5. That was his big year. He's 90-plus over his next two full seasons, which included an injury in the middle of that. We always look for patterns, right? I'm not predicting that exactly, but I think Lawrence has that in him. I think he has the high-end play in him. He's got to cut down on his inconsistency, both game to game, throw for throw."
Palazzolo goes on to say that with Coen at the helm, Lawrence is in a position to have the best season of his NFL career.
"Sometimes he's got the late-game magic. Sometimes he's making boneheaded decisions, but I think Lawrence has the ability with the Liam Cohen system coming in, and the one-two punch of Brian Thomas Jr and Travis Hunter to now have his best
season."
Luck was the most anticipated quarterback to come out of the collegiate ranks since probably John Elway in 1983. That's how talented the Stanford Cardinal was. He lived up to his draft billing, but injuries and a lack of support from the Indianapolis Colts ultimately derailed what was a promising career.
Why the Jaguars can get the best version of Trevor Lawrence in 2025?
Like Andrew Luck, Trevor Lawrence hasn't had a great supporting cast throughout his career. However, he now needs everything he needs to succeed after the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Liam Coen and James Gladstone as the head coach and the general manager, respectively.
Aside from Coen's tutelage, Lawrence will benefit from the upgrades Gladstone made to his supporting cast. On top of adding Travis Hunter and Dyami Brown to an arsenal of weapons that already included Brian Thomas Jr., the front office beefed up the offensive line. Simply put, No. 16 has no excuses.
Ultimately, the Jaguars aren't likely thinking about whether Trevor Lawrence can play like Andrew Luck but rather if he can become the best version of himself in 2025. If he does, they'll be in a great position to seize the AFC South and take the NFL by storm next season.
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