Not much went right for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. The Jaguars were embarrassed by the Houston Texans, also known as the team projected to be the worst in the league this season. Luckily for the Texans, they were taking on the worst team in the league from last season, and it was easy to see why the Jaguars ended up with Trevor Lawrence. Tyrod Taylor cooked them all game long in a 37-21 Houston victory. Despite all that, there were some notable takeaways for Lawrence and the Jaguars.
3 takeaways from Trevor Lawrence's NFL debut
Takeaway #1: Trevor Lawrence will be really good… someday
Week 1 in the NFL was a very up-and-down debut for Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the last draft. There were some plays that really stood out, like his 41-yard strike to D.J. Chark, but there were also a lot of bad plays. Lawrence threw three interceptions in the game, and they were pretty careless throws as he is still adjusting to playing against an NFL defense. While watching Lawrence play, you can see the potential, but you can also see he's not going to carry a team quite yet.
Pro Football Focus graded Lawrence as the No. 29 quarterback in Week 1. That's obviously not what the Jaguars wanted, as he finished behind fellow rookies Mac Jones and Zach Wilson. Everyone knows Lawrence is likely to be among the best quarterbacks someday, but that won't be this season, especially with the help around him. The Jaguars are still the team that finished worst in the league last season.
Takeaway #2: Jacksonville is still waiting for a receiver to break out
The Jaguars certainly aren't ignoring the offensive weapons around Trevor Lawrence. In recent years, they've drafted D.J. Chark, Laviska Shenault Jr. and Travis Etienne. Yes, Etienne is set to miss this entire season, but the Jaguars still took him to be a threat in the backfield and out wide. The two wide receivers listed were both taken in the second round, and both have a chance to become the favorite target of Lawrence. It didn't happen in Week 1 despite Lawrence throwing 51 times, but that doesn't mean any of the receivers played poorly.
Chark, Shenault and Marvin Jones Jr. all contributed very similarly for the Jaguars. Shenault caught the most passes with seven, but also had the fewest yards of the three with just 50. Meanwhile, Chark caught the fewest passes with just three but had the most yards at 86. Jones was in the middle of the both of them with five catches for 77 yards. It was a solid day for all three, but none of them jumped out and stole the show. Having these receivers compete for reps as the main guy is going to be an interesting thing to watch.
Takeaway #3: Expect the Jaguars to be picking in the top 3-5 again in the next draft
Drafting Trevor Lawrence solves one problem, but he can't play defense or play on the offensive line. The Jaguars aren't going to be good this season, but that doesn't mean they wont be fun to watch. On offense, the team has Lawrence, James Robinson, and the young receivers in Shenault and Chark. At the very least, it'll be fun to watch these guys develop, but they're still a year away from trying to get to eight or nine wins over a full season.
The defense is full of potential, but players like C.J. Henderson, Josh Allen, and Shaquill Griffin just can't combine to form a solid defense. Much like the offense, it will be a fun group to watch develop, but it's hard to see it being anything more than that. The Jaguars could reach five or six wins this season, which would be a positive development and one fans should be hoping to see happen. This could be a very formidable Jaguars team in a few years, so give them some time.
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