The Jacksonville Jaguars have seemingly taken a leap forward this season. They won their first game of the season against the Carolina Panthers, and they nearly bested the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, only losing by a score of 31-27.
The team has an exciting young core. Most notably, Travis Hunter has been showing off his two-way prowess since the Jags drafted him second overall. Despite some early-season struggles, Brian Thomas is still one of the best receivers in football long term, too. Thomas has looked somewhat unengaged early this season, and he had a crucial drop against the Bengals, but he is coming off a season in which he had 1,282 receiving yards, which was third in the NFL.
Both of those receivers need a reliable player to throw them the football. Trevor Lawrence is a former first overall pick who was expected to be a star. He has been okay so far this season and throughout his career, but he most definitely hasn't met draft expectations. His mediocrity is what will plague the Jaguars going forward.
Trevor Lawrence is the problem in Jacksonville
With Lawrence under center, the Jaguars will never find true postseason success, regardless of how skilled the rest of the roster is. Coming out of Clemson, Lawrence was one of the best prospects of all time. However, he threw 17 interceptions as a rookie, and although he surpassed 4,000 passing yards in years two and three, he still left something to be desired.
Lawrence had just 11 passing touchdowns in 10 games last season, and the hope was that he'd finally start to reach his potential during his fifth season with Hunter and Thomas on the roster. Instead, Lawrence already has three interceptions and numerous missed throws. Hunter has had some great routes in which Lawrence misfired on. And some have blamed Thomas' slow start on frustration with his quarterback.
Head coach Liam Coen even displayed dissatisfaction with Lawrence on a play in Week 2, which Lawrence brushed off. Lawrence is good enough to be a starter in the NFL. But he has done little to prove in four-plus seasons that he will ever be a star. That is an unfortunate reality for the Jaguars because they have an impressive roster around him.
In addition to Thomas and Hunter, the team has numerous other weapons. Travis Etienne is seemingly having a resurgence at running back. And the team believes in rookie Bhayshul Tuten so much that they were willing to trade Tank Bigsby. Brenton Strange is also one of the most underrated tight ends in the NFL.
The defense is full of playmakers, too. While the selection of Travon Walker was originally questioned on draft night, the edge rusher has looked more like a No. 1 overall pick in recent years. He forms one half of one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL alongside Josh Hines-Allen. Foyesade Oluokun, Arik Armstead, DaVon Hamilton, and Devin Lloyd can wreak havoc in opposing backfields as well.
Quarterback play has to be truly elite to win a Super Bowl in this era, though. Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, and Tom Brady are the only signal callers who have won a championship over the past seven years. And Lawrence is far from the level of any of those gunslingers. The Jaguars may one day have to decide between keeping the security that is employing Lawrence and testing the waters on a new quarterback who could potentially get them over the hump.
