After occupying the No. 8 spot on last year’s list, anonymous NFL executives, coaches and scouts left Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of the league’s top 10 passers in annual polling conducted by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Lawrence received enough votes to become one of six honorable-mention quarterbacks, alongside San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, Green Bay’s Jordan Love, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins.
Fowler pointed to Lawrence’s league-leading total turnovers last season, 14 interceptions and seven fumbles lost, as the primary reason for his fall in the rankings.
“I think people are tired of waiting on him,” an AFC scout told Fowler about Lawrence, Jacksonville’s first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. “I do think he’ll put it all together eventually. He should be in the top 10.”
A veteran NFL personnel evaluator sounded a bit more enthusiastic about what Lawrence has shown as an NFL quarterback so far.
“He’s going to be a little streaky and have moments where he disappears, but when he gets hot, Jacksonville is dangerous,” they said, per Fowler.
In three seasons with the Jaguars, Lawrence has completed 63.8% of his passes for 11,770 yards, 59 touchdowns and 39 interceptions, with 11 rushing touchdowns and 21 fumbles lost.
Since Doug Pederson replaced Urban Meyer as Jacksonville’s head coach after Lawrence’s rookie year, he’s completed 65.9% of his passes for 8,129 yards with 46 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, with nine rushing touchdowns and 16 fumbles lost.
Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr., edge rusher Joshua Hines-Allen and tight end Evan Engram were named among the top 10 players at their respective positions by ESPN’s polling of NFL personnel released earlier this week. Jacksonville’s Andre Cisco was named an honorable mention safety in the same set of surveys.