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The Jacksonville Jaguars made the obvious decision and announced that Trevor Lawrence will start for the team in Week 1.
The decision was announced after the second game of the preseason, even though Lawrence couldn't do much against a strong New Orleans Saints defense that outmatched the Jaguars' offensive line. The main confirmation, however, came days later, when Jacksonville traded QB Gardner Minshew to the Philadelphia Eagles.
In recent years, the preconception about starting or sitting a quarterback in his rookie season has leaned towards option two after Patrick Mahomes' success coming out of Texas Tech. Lawrence, though, is the most pro-ready quarterback to come out of college since Andrew Luck in 2012, so he deserves his own analysis.
Are the Jaguars making the right decision starting Lawrence Week 1?
The main point when we're talking about whether a rookie quarterback should be playing from the start of his first season is about his development and not the results.
The Jaguars were only able to select Lawrence with the first overall pick because their 2020 team was awful. You can't build a strong roster in one offseason, so there's a strong possibility that Jacksonville will be a bad team again. But there's hope now because they have a franchise quarterback, and a damn good one.
Lawrence is the most pro-ready quarterback to come into the league in almost a decade. His decision-making is sharp, his accuracy is great, his arm talent is above average and his pocket presence is flawless. He's as close to a perfect prospect as it gets.
So what's the point of sitting Lawrence? He's ready to play as soon as the games start. There's not much for him to learn while sitting on the sideline. The only way his development takes a step further is with him on the field, even if there are some growing pains along the way.
The right decision doesn't come without risks
Even though Lawrence is NFL-ready, the big question is the Jaguars' offensive line, which is below average in both the interior and the extremes.
The risk of an injury gets higher in this case, as Lawrence will be pressured more often and also take a lot of sacks. As a reminder, Andrew Luck retired from the NFL after a glut of injuries because of the Indianapolis Colts' poor team-building over the last decade which saw Luck take a lot of hits every season.
The Jaguars have to strengthen their offensive line in order to make sure nothing happens with a prized QB like Lawrence. Drafting him was the easy part. The work begins now.
