Remember all the articles from late last year pontificating why Trevor Lawrence should return to school so the Jets couldn’t draft him? Or how he should pull an Eli Manning or John Elway and force the Jets to take somewhere else? Or how the Jaguars provided a far better destination than the lowly Jets?
Pundits including Stephen A. Smith, Jeremy Schaap and Mike Greenberg, as well as former NFL wideout Roddy White, all advocated for Lawrence not being drafted by a Jets organization that chewed up and spit out young quarterbacks over the past decade. Jacksonville, the only other team in the running for the No. 1 pick at the time — the Jags ulmitealy got it — was billed as the better environment.
Those takes certainly didn’t age well.
The Jets have already proven themselves more capable of winning a game, albeit only slightly. New York upset the Titans in Week 4 thanks to fantastic coaching, great defense and spectacular throws by Zach Wilson. The Jaguars, meanwhile, look lost at 0-4. Jacksonville ranks a little higher offensively than the Jets – both in points, yards and point differential – but otherwise doesn’t appear to be any less of a bad landing spot for Lawrence.
But both teams were expected to lose this season. The hot takes stemmed more from New York’s persistent dysfunction under Adam Gase — and before him, too. But Joe Douglas replaced the inept coach with Robert Saleh, and the general atmosphere around the team has improved dramatically.
The Jaguars, meanwhile, are a laughingstock off the field.
Urban Meyer looked like a trainwreck coaching hire prior to his weekend escapades in Ohio. Now there are reports that he’s already lost the locker room. Those are only the problems Meyer has caused this week.
All this has happened since the #Jaguars hired Urban Meyer. pic.twitter.com/hURoUPAUlf
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 5, 2021
Lawrence was considered a generational talent on the same plane as Elway or Andrew Luck entering the NFL. But because of the team around him in Jacksonville, he’s barely posted better numbers than Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the draft. Their baseline statistics are almost identical: Lawrence has a slightly better completion percentage, one more touchdown pass and one fewer interception, while Wilson has more passing yards. Wilson has accomplished his numbers despite being pressured 15 more times than Lawrence and sacked 10 more times.
The environments the two are developing in don’t compare, though, as Lawrence’s in-over-his-head coach has presented constant distractions for his team.
So which franchise looks like the worst choice for Lawrence now? One is trending upward with a solid roster around its quarterback, while the other remains stuck in the drudges of the league and can’t stay out of the tabloids.
For once, the Jets aren’t the latter.
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