Trevor Lawrence is the next generation number one draft pick in the National Football League this draft season.
Lawrence is the perfect template for today’s style of a franchise quarterback, refined and polished for his generation. He’s a calm operator with a lot of experience over the course of three seasons. His body of work could provide NFL teams with a good picture of who he is and what kind of player he might grow into.
He attended Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia, where he mainly played football and basketball. As just a junior in 2016, he was named The Atlanta Journal-player Constitution player of the year after completing 250 of 406 passes for 3,904 yards and 51 touchdowns. He threw for 3,655 yards and 43 touchdowns as a senior, and 3,042 yards and 26 touchdowns in his rookie season.
Lawrence led the Purple Hurricanes to 41 consecutive wins from his sophomore to senior year, claiming two state championships and four area titles while also earning multiple national high school player of the year awards. Lawrence was a five-star recruit and was one of the top high school quarterback prospects in history. He agreed to play football for Clemson University on December 16, 2016.
“I am internally motivated – I love football as much or more than anyone. It is a HUGE priority in my life, obviously. I am driven to be the best I can be, and to maximize my potential. And to WIN,” Lawrence explained in a tweet. His passion for football has been with him since his childhood and this passion is the reason as to why he possesses elite pocket-passing skills and dual-threat agility. Although his style from the pocket is reasonably refined, he has more improvisational potential than many of the quarterbacks who have come up through the quarterback camp circuits since they were young. He possesses the arm and vision necessary to make all of the throws and produce dynamic plays from beyond the pocket.
However, there are several places to be concerned about. When Lawrence was made to work under pressure in 2020, his poise, decision-making, and consistency all declined. His success against Virginia Tech demonstrated that he still has the potential to learn in terms of how he processes his options in many blitz situations. He seemed to be hindered by his play-action-heavy offense at times. Getting away from the device could be beneficial to him after the snap. Despite these challenges, many have high expectations for this young quarterback and think he will go far.
