ESPN Rankings: Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence Ranked No. 8 QB

The Jaguars' franchise quarterback is a bonafide top-10 passer.

Trevor Lawrence has arrived.

The Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback has become the first Jaguars quarterback to ever find himself on ESPN's top-10 list, landing at No. 8 in his debut.

Lawrence is ranked behind Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, and Lamar Jackson. Lawrence's highest ranking by a voter was at No. 4.

"Lawrence vaulted into the top 10 with a stellar sophomore campaign, throwing for 4,113 yards and 25 touchdowns with eight interceptions to lead Jacksonville to its first playoff berth since 2017. He caught fire in the second half of the season. During Weeks 9-18, he ranked second in completion percentage (70%) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (15-2) to lead Jacksonville to a 7-2 finish and a playoff berth," ESPN said. 

"He looked like the player that was promised in the [2021] draft," an NFL coordinator said. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's a top-five passer at the same time next year. Lawrence ranked third in completions of longer than 20 yards (55) and was impressive against the blitz with a 78.6 QBR in that setting, ranking sixth in the NFL. A second year with coach Doug Pederson -- who can work Calvin Ridley into the mix -- should quell any reservations about Lawrence's growth in Year 3, one AFC exec said. 'The only knock on him is he takes too many risks -- like, Did you really need to try to squeeze that in there?' a veteran NFL offensive coach said. 'But I'd rather that than someone who doesn't play with that confidence.'"

In 17 starts in 2022, Lawrence completed 387 of 584 passes for 4,113 yards and 25 TDs. His 387 completions were the most in a single season in franchise history and his five rushing TDs were tied with Garrard for the most in single-season franchise history.

Lawrence joined Bengals QB Joe Burrow and Bills QB Josh Allen as the only players in the NFL with 25-plus passing TDs and at least five rushing TDs. Against the Titans in Week 14, Lawrence set a career-high with 368 yards passing and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.

The second-year quarterback totaled four 300-yard passing games and orchestrated three comebacks of 17-plus points, including a comeback from behind 27-0 in the postseason against the Chargers. 

Lawrence is the third Jaguar to be ranked in the top-10 after Evan Engram was ranked as the No. 8 tight end and Brandon Scherff was ranked as the No. 9 interior offensive lineman. Running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun were honorable mentions and cornerback Tyson Campbell received some top-10 votes, while the Jaguars had no players listed for defensive line, EDGE, or safety.

"As part of ESPN's 2023 NFL season preview, we surveyed league executives, coaches, scouts and players to help us rank the top 10 players at 11 different positions," ESPN said.

"By way of refresher, here's how our process works: Voters give us their best 10 players at a position, then we compile the results and rank candidates based on number of top-10 votes, composite average, along with dozens of interviews, research and film-study help from ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen. In total, more than 80 voters submitted a ballot on at least one position, and in many cases all positions. We had several ties, so we broke them with the help of additional voting and follow-up calls with those surveyed."