Coming out of high school, Lawrence was the top ranked QB and player in the class amongst all major recruiting databases, with some even ranking his one of the highest overall of all-time. Once at Clemson, the consensus 5-star recruit led the Tigers to a National Championship as a freshman, reaching the Championship again as a sophomore but losing to Joe Burrow and the future NFL player packed LSU Tigers. In his COVID filled Junior season he again led Clemson to a College Football Playoff appearance before losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Semi’s.
Mel Kiper’s #4 overall QB draft prospect ever, “Generational Talent”, “Tremendous skill set”, “As close to a sure thing as you can have”, along with countless other high praise phrases and comparisons were all you heard about Lawrence coming into the 2021 NFL Draft.
Now Trevor is in the start of his 4th season in the NFL, which the way he was touted throughout his playing career you would assume he is living up to expectations, winning games, and amongst the top ranked QB’s in the league…
Wrong.
Lawrence is far from it, and it is time we address this.
When you turn on any NFL media, watch any talking head on Instagram, or scroll X, you will find various articles and videos relentlessly questioning Daniel Jones’ contract, berating Baker Mayfield’s decision making, telling you Jared Goff isn’t the guy and the Lions need to draft his successor, and countless other takes of various NFL QB’s lack of skill or play. But, something you will never see is judgement of Trevor Lawrence. Why?
This year heading into the season, Lawrence was ranked by PFF the 12th best starting QB, which means he is in the upper 50% of the leagues best. Some notable players in the lower 18 behind Lawrence are those mentioned above, among some others:
NFC Champion Brock Purdy and league passing yard leader Tua Tagovailoa.
Looking at the numbers below, we take a look at 5 QB’s stats over the course of the 3+ years that Trevor Lawrence has been in the league. It would not be fair to compare stats from players over their career who have been in the league longer than he has, but it is fair to compare them in the same time frame he has been in the league.
None of these players truly stand out when it comes to leading the league in categories, all are amongst the middle of the pact in statistics, however they are not all created equally in the eyes of the media.
With the stats above, it is safe to say that QB-3 and 4 (from the left) are the lesser options when it comes to selecting amongst these players, however QB-4 edges out QB-3. Making QB-3 the worst option, correct?
While QB-1’s stats are skewed slightly due to the fact that he played less games over this time, this will be addressed below shortly.
PFF Rankings pre-2024:
QB1 – Daniel Jones – 29
QB2 – Jared Goff – 16
QB3 – Trevor Lawrence – 12
QB4 – Baker Mayfield – 20
QB5 – Tua Tagovailoa – 14
Baker, Tua, and Jared all threw for more yards, TD’s, with less INT’s than Trevor last season. Yet, all rank below him.
Brock Purdy’s stats aren’t included in this because he has only 2 seasons worth of game’s, however if we wanted to compare the two – Purdy led Lawrence in every-single-major-category. ALL OF THEM. Yet, he is ranked behind Lawrence in PFF’s rankings.
Trevor Lawrence was ranked 17 spots above Daniel Jones.
If you don’t want to compare the two’s stats over the course of the time Lawrence has been in the league, just look at the two’s first 50 career games.
Why is Trevor Lawrence viewed as one of the upper half NFL starting QB’s? Why is Daniel Jones’ 160 million dollar contract called into question, but Trevor Lawrence’s 275 million dollar contract isn’t?
Is it because he has the flowing hair? Is it because he plays in Jacksonville so the media doesn’t crucify him as they do Jones in New York? Why is it that we are being fed lies that Trevor Lawrence is the real deal, when in reality the statistics say otherwise.
It’s time we start hating on Trevor Lawrence like we do the rest of the NFL QB’s who do not live up to their expectations. Caleb Williams is 3 games into his career and already getting dragged, but Trevor Lawrence continues to be worse than his counterparts who receive more flack.
Till Next Time,
Trevor
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