The 2021 NFL Draft is two weeks away and the Jacksonville Jaguars will kick the annual event off by taking Trevor Lawrence — probably. When they turn the card in with his name on it, he’ll officially be the biggest star to be selected by the Jags, which some feel will instantly put a lot of pressure on him.
However, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit seems to disagree with those sentiments. While he does think there will be a little pressure on Lawrence to deliver for the fan base, he told the media that Urban Meyer will be the one feeling the most pressure in the Jags building for the simple fact that he’s a high-profile first-year coach.
“Well, I think he’s going into a unique situation with Urban Meyer coming in there in year one,” Herbstreit said. “And Urban went out and hired Brian Schottenheimer and Darrell Bevell, a couple guys that obviously have a ton of NFL experience. I think that helps him. Urban Meyer is going to create an energy – I think it’s your question to me. I think that falls more on Urban Meyer shoulders than just the quarterback, and I think Trevor comes in, and he ends up ultimately going there.
“Obviously anytime you’re the first pick overall you’re going to feel some of that weight too. But as far as that franchise needing to go in a different direction, I think the timing for him is good because you’ve got a high profile first year head coach that has many people every week dissecting his every move as much as the quarterback.”
Herbstreit certainly makes a good point, especially when considering how the fan base already views Meyer from his days of great success at Florida. That same logic could apply from those watching from a national perspective as many fans and analysts want to see if he’ll have issues like Nick Saban did in the league, or succeed like Jimmy Johnson.
Herbstreit added that the circumstances would be different if Doug Marrone was still the Jags coach. In that scenario, Herbstreit stated that things would more so fall on Lawrence’s shoulders due to Marrone already spending multiple years in the NFL as a head coach.
Many journalists feel that Meyer has an uphill battle to overcome with this Jags team despite the assets they have to aid them. However, one thing that could help Meyer tremendously is the Jags group of skill weapons. With notables like James Robinson, DJ Chark, and Laviska Shenault Jr. in place, onlookers can’t rule out Lawrence having success as a rookie.