Former Coach Believes Trevor Lawrence is Third Best Quarterback in 2021 NFL Draft

This is a bold take from a former NFL head coach

Author:
NFL News
Updated:
Feb 17, 2021 10:27 PM EST
Original:
Feb 17, 2021

Most people expect Trevor Lawrence to be the top pick in April's NFL Draft.

The Clemson product looks like he was built in a quarterback laboratory. He's 6-6, 220 pounds, has a cannon for an arm and can run if/when needed.

Lawrence finished with a 34-2 record at Clemson and won a National Championship as a true freshman. Despite all of his success in college, former NFL head coach June Jones wouldn't take Lawrence with the No. 1 pick.

"Hey, I do like him. But I would not take him with the first pick, though," Jones told Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports. "Everyone is saying that’s the guy at 1. But I would trade that pick and take one of these other quarterbacks down the line.
He’s a very talented kid, don’t get me wrong, and I think he’s a winner. He can do things that other quarterbacks can’t do, such as run.
But what I’ve noticed is, when you see him drop back and throw, let’s say, a 9-route down the field, on those completions that he had over 20 yards, a lot of times his receivers make great plays on those balls. And they weren’t right on the money, they weren’t right in stride. The receivers sometimes had to work for the deep ball with him than what [you’d expect from] a great quarterback."

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones [no relation] is Jones' top quarterback in the 2021 draft class, followed by BYU signal-caller Zach Wilson.

Jones hasn't coached in the NFL since 1998, but he did coach the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL last year. He was the head coach at Hawaii and SMU. He also spent two years in the CFL.

Lawrence seems like sure thing, but it's OK for evaluators to have some concerns. No quarterback prospect is perfect.

With that said, there's a reason the Jaguars landed Urban Meyer as their head coach. Money might be part of it, but the chance to draft Lawrence played a factor in Meyer's decision to make the jump to the NFL after spending 30+ years as a college coach.

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