Trevor Lawrence entered the NFL viewed as a generational talent with many confident he would finally be the guy to turn the Jacksonville Jaguars around. While the rookie fell far short of expectations in 2021, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is very confident in Lawrence’s future.
Belichick, who has earned his reputation for talent evaluation thanks to his dedication to studying film, has spent a lot of time watching Lawrence’s rookie tape. While many view Lawrence’s season as underwhelming, with some even questioning if he was overrated during the pre-draft process, Belichick sees progress from the 6-foot-6 quarterback.
Speaking to reporters this week, after evaluating the Jaguars’ film for several days, Belichick noted that Lawrence has already made strides in his rookie season and believes he has the chance to be a great NFL quarterback.
“I think he’s gotten more comfortable as the season’s gone on and gotten comfortable with the offense. I’d say the offense has probably gotten comfortable with the things he does best. Definitely, a good level of execution there. They did a good job last week against the Jets, mixing in different varieties of passes, quick throws, moving pocket throws, deep balls, third-down conversions, red area plays. He’s pretty good at all of them and continues to get better. So I think he’s had a good year and I think he’ll be a solid NFL player. Maybe great, I don’t know, but he’s certainly made a lot of progress this year.”
New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick on Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, via Pro Football Talk
Lawrence’s first NFL season started poorly. Through his first three games, the No. pick completed just 54.24% of his pass attempts with seven interceptions, a 60.3 passer rating and averaged 5.67 ypa. During that stretch, Jacksonville lost wide receiver DJ Chark to a season-ending injury.
But even with one of the worst supporting casts in the NFL around him, Lawrence started cutting down on his mistakes and displayed some improvement.
- Trevor Lawrence stats (Week 4-13): 59.4% completion rate, 4-3 TD-INT ratio, 76.8 passer rating, 6.0 ypa
Lawrence certainly isn’t playing up to the level we’ve seen from rookie quarterbacks Mac Jones, Justin Fields and even Davis Mills. But the environment around him for the majority of the 2021 season was toxic. Combine that with bad play-calling and one of the NFL’s worst receiving corps, it all culminates in a disappointing rookie season.
Lawrence didn’t meet expectations this year, but he is the reason many NFL coaching candidates will want the Jacksonville job. If the Jaguars spend their cap space wisely and hire the right offensive mind, Lawrence can be a great quarterback.