When you’re the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on you to be successful right away.
Some first-overall picks, such as Peyton Manning, go on to have tremendous NFL careers and live up to those expectations. Some, such as JaMarcus Russell, never quite pan out in the NFL and flame out quickly.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson believes Trevor Lawrence falls firmly in the first category.
Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this week, Pederson had nothing but nice things to say about the third-year quarterback from Clemson, saying, “He’s the real deal. He’s a sponge on the practice field, he’s a great communicator with us as a staff, a great leader. He’s the guy we all anticipated he was, and he is. We’re excited for that. He’s still young. He’s got a lot of ball ahead of him.”
Lawrence’s college career speaks for itself, as he went 34-2 with 90 touchdown passes in three seasons with the Clemson Tigers, who Lawrence led to their second National Championship in three seasons when he and the Tigers knocked off Alabama in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. He would go on to be named the ACC Player of the Year in 2020 and the ACC Athlete of the Year in 2021.
