WATCH: Trevor Lawrence highlights from NFL debut with Jaguars
The long-awaited debut is over, Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence made his long-awaited NFL debut last night for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The number one selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence debuted with change and optimism in the Jacksonville air. However, the results were uneven, as the quarterback completed 6 of 9 passes for 71 yards.
As Lawrence learns the differences between the college and professional games, his head coach is doing the same. Urban Meyer also made his NFL debut last night, and he came away impressed with his rookie quarterback.
“I saw good plays,” Meyer said at the half. “I saw a guy who made a couple nice plays on 3rd down. … Instead of anticipating the throws [he was] holding on to it a little bit but we have a long way to go.”
Can Trevor Lawrence turn the Jaguars around?
While in college, Lawrence led the Clemson Tigers to a national title as a freshman. Now, the Jaguars are expecting Lawrence to develop into their franchise quarterback.
Meyer was brought in this offseason from the college game and decided to piece the new era in Jacksonville around Lawrence. The duo is expected to play a large part in the franchise’s turnaround on the field.
A Heisman runner-up in his final season in Clemson, Trevor Lawrence has now entered a Jacksonville quarterback room that includes Gardner Minshew and C.J. Beathard. The Jaguars have been searching for a reliable quarterback for years. Since 2010, Blake Bortles is the only quarterback to start all 16 games in a season.
Lawrence is teaming up with his former Clemson teammate Travis Etienne in Jacksonville. Both were selected by the Jaguars in the first round of this year’s draft. In addition to Lawrence and Etienne, Jacksonville is building a young offensive core around running back James Robinson and wide receivers DJ Chark, Marvin Jones Jr., and Laviska Shenault.
Lawrence’s First NFL Highlight
Lawrence’s debut wasn’t without highlights. The Jaguars quarterback made a clutch play early in Saturday night’s game, finding Marvin Jones Jr. late in the first quarter on third down.
The Clemson product threw the ball over the defender’s back and Jones made a fantastic catch.
While Lawrence made plenty of phenomenal plays at Clemson, his first highlight as an NFL player is extra special. No, he didn’t throw or run for a touchdown like Justin Field did in his debut, the camera still shined bright on the first overall selection.
While Meyer isn’t naming Lawrence the team’s starting quarterback just yet, we can read the room. If the first-year NFL head coach decides to start Garnder Minshew over Lawrence, we may see Jacksonville erupt.
There’s no doubt Trevor Lawrence has a long way to go to prove he’s worthy of the hype. Still, his NFL debut showcased he has the locker presence and talent to have a successful NFL career.
On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this article.
Image courtesy of Julio Aguilar / Getty Images