What Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence Must Do in 2026 to Become Bonafide Top-10 QB

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars saw Trevor Lawrence have one of the best years of his career in 2025, so naturally the question has to be ... what's next?

Lawrence is entering his sixth season in 2026, a stark reality for the franchise quarterback who came to the Jaguars as a 21-year-old in 2021. Lawrence has started 80 games for the Jaguars since then and, if all goes very right, could hit the 100-game mark in 2026-27.

But what do the Jaguars have to do to ensure Lawrence continues to take a leap, and 2025 is not just seen as a successful blip? How can Lawrence break into the consistent top-10 quarterback rankings that have mostly evaded him? We break it down below.

trevor lawrence — Jan 4, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) drops back to pass against the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lawrence's Path to Top-10 Status

While most quarterback rankings entering 2026 have Lawrence outside of the top-10, there is one that has him included at the No. 10 spot: Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame, who made the case that 2026 could see Lawrence realize the potential that has had the football world invested in him for the entire 2020s.

"Lawrence has endured one of the more uneven starts to a career in recent memory. As a rookie, he suffered through the Urban Meyer debacle. Then, under Doug Pederson, the Jaguars reached the playoffs in 2022, and Lawrence earned Pro Bowl honors with 4,113 passing yards and 25 touchdowns," Verderame said.

"However, after missing the playoffs the next two years, Liam Coen was brought in to replace Pederson. After a slow start, Lawrence caught fire with 15 touchdowns and one interception over the final six regular-season games, helping Jacksonville go 13–4 and win the AFC South. If that stretch is indicative of what’s to come for Lawrence under Coen, he could become the elite quarterback everyone expected when he came out of Clemson."

Finding Consistency

Consistency is exactly what Lawrence has to do to enter the top-10 talks on a consistent basis. Lawrence has hit some high peaks in the past and put together strong streaks of elevated play, and this year will give him the chance to hit the ground running in Week 1 with some momentum.

Lawrence finished the 2025 season on perhaps the best hot streak of his entire career, surpassing even what he did over the second-half of the 2022 season. Lawrence caught fire and the Jaguars simply just kept winning games behind his strong performances. Even with a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round, Lawrence led the Jaguars to two different fourth-quarter touchdown drives to take leads before the defense ran into Josh Allen.

For Lawrence to continue to ascend in the court of public opinion, he will have to make sure that he starts strong in 2026. Lawrence has traditionally played better as the year goes on outside of the 2023 season, and there was a stark contrast in his pre- and post-bye week numbers a year ago. For Lawrence to flip the narrative, he will need to come out swinging in Week 1.

Ranking Among QBs	Pre-Bye Week	Post-Bye Week	Weeks 1-18
EPA/Play	No. 24	No. 4	No. 17
Success Rate	No. 25	No. 4	No. 14
CPOE	No. 31	No. 7	No. 28

In short, Lawrence was elite for the Jaguars from Week 9 onward. Before then, though, the passing game struggled to find its footing, especially against top-ranked defenses like the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. The Jaguars made adjustments, added Jakobi Meyers, and saw Parker Washington breakout as the slot receiver after Travis Hunter's injury, but the early struggles were real.

For Lawrence to enter the top-10 talks each and every offseason, he needs to play well from September to January and put together an entire season of high-level quarterback play. Lawrence has certainly shown the ability to do so, and if he does it in 2026 then everything else will fall into play for Lawrence.

Wins are a critical part of any quarterback's reputation, though clearly not the final word. But as long as Lawrence continues to hit his stride the way he did over the second-half of last season, then the wins will come along right with it. To Lawrence's credit, he looked as good during OTAs and minicamp this spring as he ever has.

Have a day, BTJ@Dream_Finders | #DUUUVAL https://t.co/SDSRkHiSwH pic.twitter.com/W5HsG3Z3Vn
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) June 10, 2026

Lawrence has the advantage of having another year in Liam Coen's scheme, as well as arguably the best supporting cast he has had in a training camp since he was drafted. If Lawrence is going to become the top-10 annual quarterback everyone knows he can be, then those are going to be critical factors.

“Yeah, it's just a lot calmer, a lot more confident in my progressions and what I know about the system and stepping out so when I get on the grass it's a lot less thinking," Lawrence said during the offseason program.

"I think that's the biggest thing is I can react, play faster, can work on some different things of my game because the focus isn't as much on what to do and what's the play call and what are all the adjustments, I know all that stuff and still study that and work on it because it's easy to forget little details."

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