How Did Jaguars’ Lawrence Fare in Analyst’s QB Traits Rankings?
· Yahoo Sports
Trevor Lawrence had the best season of his career last season, finally looking like the quarterback the Jacksonville Jaguars expected when they drafted him first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Paired with head coach Liam Coen, one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL, Lawrence transformed into a true franchise player and was named a finalist for the NFL MVP award.
Despite playing like one of the league's best quarterbacks, many remain skeptical about Lawrence and wonder if his stellar play was just a hot streak, not proof that he had actually figured things out. Lawrence has been ranked just outside the top-10 in most QB rankings, with a panel of NFL coaches and executives ranking him only 16th, per The Athletic.
It's going to take more than one good season for Lawrence to earn respect from those around the NFL world, which was a message Coen had already shared with his team earlier this offseason.
Further evidence that Lawrence has more work to do can be found in ESPN's Dan Orlovsky's ranking of quarterback traits. Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, ranked his top 10 QBs in the NFL on arm strength, ball placement, mechanics, decision-making, pocket presence, second reaction, and rushing ability.
Lawrence, despite being one of only four QBs named an MVP finalist last season, was only ranked in one of the seven traits. He came in 10th for his pocket presence.
That's it.
Lawrence Snubbed Or Room For Improvement?Amazingly, Lawrence had an MVP-caliber season without being a top-10 QB in six of the seven traits Orlovsky believes are most vital for quarterbacks.
Was Lawrence snubbed by Orlovsky? Or does it prove that he has tons of room for improvement? Maybe a little of both.
Lawrence has always been thought of as having a strong arm with the ability to make every throw. Orlovsky says his ranking isn't as much about the ability to throw the deep ball, but about the ability to zip balls into tight windows in the intermediate areas of the field.
Even so, Lawrence should probably be in the top 10. At least Orlovsky admits he really wanted to include Lawrence.
"The one quarterback I really wanted to get into the top 10 was Trevor Lawrence. He also has some underrated arm talent and makes difficult throws look easy. Hey, it's tough to limit these lists to just 10 guys."
Orlovsky also mentions Lawrence as coming close to the top 10 for his second-reaction abilities. Lawrence's 91.0 passer rating on throws from outside the pocket shows that Orlovsky was probably right not to include him.
Lawrence has always had issues with his decision-making. It was possibly the main reason why it took him so long to look as great as he did last season. He had his lower-body mechanics and footwork heavily worked on and adjusted by Coen last year, so it's easy to see why he was left off that list as well.
Lawrence also doesn't have the completion percentage that most of the other top QBs had, although the fact that his receivers had more drops than any other QB had a lot to do with that. It is still a fair reason to leave him out of the rankings for ball placement.
It's hard to believe that Lawrence isn't a top-10 QB when it comes to rushing ability. He had nine rushing scores last season and routinely made plays with his legs. That one, I think, was a snub, which Orlovsky also acknowledges.
Final ThoughtsObviously, Lawrence still hasn't cemented his spot among the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Orlovsky's rankings show that Lawrence is not thought of as having any of the elite individual traits that QBs need for success.
However, if Lawrence can have a terrific season like the one he had in 2025 without elite traits, imagine how much better he can be if he continues to take steps forward. Entering his second year in Coen's offense, there is plenty of reason to believe that Lawrence will be even better in 2026.
I can't wait to compare Lawrence's rankings, or lack thereof, on this year's list to where he places when Orlovsky makes the same rankings next season.