Pro Football Focus believes the Jaguars have the best quarterback in the NFL (under 25 years old).
A senior analyst for the outlet, Zoltán Buday, ranks Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence as the No. 3 player in the league among those who will be 24 years old or younger during Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, making him the top-rated player at his position in this specific circumstance.
Houston signal-caller C.J. Stroud (No. 7) and San Francisco passer Brock Purdy (No. 8) are the only quarterbacks other than Lawrence to appear on the list.
“Many might call Lawrence’s 2023 season a disappointment, especially considering preseason expectations,” Buday wrote.
“However, he earned the highest overall grade of his career in 2023 and, during the first part of the season, demonstrated why the Jaguars selected him with the first-overall pick three years ago. Lawrence’s 88.1 overall grade after 13 weeks last year ranked fifth among quarterbacks.”
Over those 13 weeks, a 12-game stretch in which the Jaguars went 8-4, Lawrence completed 67.9% of his passes for 3,004 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
In the fourth quarter of Jacksonville’s Week 13 matchup, ending in a loss to Cincinnati, Lawrence went down with a high-ankle sprain that did not knock Lawrence out of the starting lineup, despite the injury’s typical multi-week recovery phase.
But Lawrence wasn’t done taking hits and hurts. He suffered a concussion in Week 15, but played through it in Week 16, only to incur a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. He missed one game, Week 17, before returning to start in Week 18’s season finale.
Over his final four appearances, Lawrence accumulated a 60% completion percentage and posted 1,012 passing yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Jaguars went 1-4 over those five weeks, winning at Carolina with C.J. Beathard starting for the injured Lawrence.
Jacksonville expects Lawrence to return to his pre-injury form in 2024, having recovered fully from each of his 2023 ailments. Jacksonville’s front office is actively and rather openly negotiating with Lawrence and his representatives regarding a long-term contract extension.