NFL Legend Brett Favre Suggests the Jaguars Should Pass on Trevor Lawrence
Despite the Jacksonville Jaguars having a fairly easy decision to make at No. 1 overall, we have seen pundits wonder if the Jaguars should pull the trigger on Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, or instead pass up on him for Ohio State's Justin Fields (or even Penei Sewell in some instances, for some reason).
Well, this is a new one.
The latest to weigh in on the Jaguars' franchise-altering decision is Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, who has an extremely outside-the-box idea for what the Jaguars should do with the No. 1 pick.
"I think he's really good," Favre told TMZ Sports about Lawrence to start.
But Favre didn't stop there. As talented as he thinks Lawrence is, he suggested the Jaguars pass up on the former national champion and instead select a wide receiver.
"I don't know if Jacksonville, in my opinion, I don't know if quarterback is their immediate need. Probably a lot of needs that they have," Favre said. "I would take DeVonta Smith. "
There have been quite a few opinions on what the Jaguars should do at No. 1 overall, but suggesting they pick a wide receiver over a potential quarterback with the first pick of the draft seems like an incredible stretch, even with Smith's incredible talent in mind.
This doesn't factor in Favre's overall point that the Jaguars' greatest immediate need isn't quarterback. The Jaguars were one of the NFL's worst offenses last season because they had a complete merry-go-round of quarterbacks between Gardner Minshew, Mike Glennon, and Jake Luton. None of those players are truly quality starting passers, which is the biggest reason the Jaguars are in a position to pick Lawrence to begin with.
Favre noted he thinks Smith could be a Jerry Rice or Randy Moss-type prospect, which is his biggest argument in favor of the Jaguars taking Smith over Lawrence.
"I think you go with a guy like that," Favre told TMZ. "Nothing against Trevor Lawrence but I think you can find a free agent guy or a guy in the later rounds or mid-rounds in the draft."
Considering the Jaguars have failed with both a free agent quarterback and a late/mid-round quarterback in the last two seasons, there isn't much of a foundation for Favre's argument. The free agency class at quarterback will be limited to journeyman and low-tier starters unless Dak Prescott is somehow a free agent, too.
The NFL has shown one rule to be true year in and year out. If you can get a franchise passer caliber of quarterback, you pull the trigger. Taking Smith over Lawrence would be similar to taking Leonard Fournette over Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. What is there to gain? Smith could be the best receiver in the NFL and still not be the right pick in this instance.
The Jaguars have never had the No. 1 overall pick before, either. Is there any real chance that they use their first-ever top pick on a receiver? Even for a Jaguars franchise that has made countless poor decisions in the past, they deserve the benefit of the doubt to not be the first team to pick a wide receiver No. 1 since the Jets picked Keyshawn Johnson in 1996.
"You see [Clemson QB] Trevor [Lawrence], you see [Ohio State QB] Justin [Fields], you see [BYU QB] Zach [Wilson]. As Shad said, this is a monumental moment for this franchise," Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said last week at his introductory press conference. We’ve seen some franchises explode and we’ve seen others fail. I’ve said this many times throughout my career is that when the NFL says it’s a quarterback league, I would say ‘well so is college and so is high school, so is Pop Warner.’ It’s a quarterback sport, so whoever takes that snap, we have got to be right on.
"Who we pick at that quarterback spot, that’s going to be one of the most important decisions I’ve made in my lifetime, along with the partnership of our owner and our general manager. The ones that are out there, my initial study, because I have been studying a lot, I like to use the term elite. I see some elite quarterbacks out there right now.”
So, yes, Smith is a fantastic player who will undoubtedly be picked early in April. But no, the Jaguars shouldn't even toy with the idea of passing up on Lawrence for a skill player, even one of Smith's caliber.
