Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images
It’s no surprise that it’s been 471 days since the 2020 national championship, yet prospects out of that game continue to be the talk of the draft. Last year we saw LSU Tigers’ Joe Burrow get drafted No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. This year the quarterback Burrow defeated in his final collegian game, Trevor Lawrence will indubitably be the No. 1 pick headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The expectations are sky-high for the presumptive top pick who ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has ranked as the fourth-highest-graded QB prospect, behind only John Elway, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck. Will Lawrence live up to the hype? Quite frankly that’s a question that no one will have a straight answer to, however, you can surely bank on him going into a great situation. The Jaguars hired Urban Meyer this past offseason as head coach and if it wasn’t for Jacksonville having the top pick, Meyer likely would’ve been coaching Texas football.
“I spoke to an exec this weekend who said, ‘Meyer, if the Jacksonville Jaguars were picking second, he might be coaching the University of Texas right now making $10-12 million a year,'” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler
In Jacksonville’s favor, Meyer will have Lawrence available with the top pick (obviously) but hiring offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell could be the difference-maker for Lawrence in the 2021 season. In fact, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson influenced Meyer to higher Bevell. According to NFL Network’s James Palmer, Wilson “told Meyer about Bevell’s ability to get him ready to perform at a high level very quickly his rookie season.” We saw how that turned out for Wilson who went on to make back-to-back super bowl appearances following his rookie year, winning one of them.
A lengthy conversation with Russell Wilson had a huge impact on Urban Meyer’s decision to hire Darrel Bevell as his OC after Wilson told Meyer about Bevell’s ability to get him ready to perform at a high level very quickly his rookie season.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) April 27, 2021
On top of that, Bevell’s offense in Jacksonville will include wide receiver Marvin Jones who has racked up 138 catches for 1,757 yards and has scored 18 touchdowns in 29 games under the then Lions offensive coordinator. My gut says Lawrence should be in good hands for years to come in DUUUVAL.
