Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars as the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. David J. Phillip/Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars made the easiest and maybe most significant selection in franchise history when they chose Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first pick in the NFL draft Thursday night.
The Jaguars made the announcement that’s been expected for months official shortly after the start of the draft, setting off a raucous celebration inside TIAA Bank Field. A sold-out draft party, which included a crowd of 8,000, cheered wildly as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stepped to the podium to call Lawrence’s name.
Lawrence is the fourth quarterback drafted by the franchise in the first round in its 27 years of existence, joining Byron Leftwich (2003), Blaine Gabbert (2011) and Blake Bortles (2014).
BYU quarterback Zach Wilson was taken by the Jets with the No. 2 pick, and Trey Lance, a quarterback from FCS school North Dakota State, went third overall to San Francisco.
Two other signal callers went in the top 15 picks: Chicago traded up to take Ohio State’s Justin Fields with the 11th pick, and the Patriots got Alabama’s Mac Jones with No. 15.
The first non-quarterback selected was Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, taken by the Falcons with the fourth pick. The Bengals followed by selecting LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, reuniting him with his former college teammate, quarterback Joe Burrow.
Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who went to the Dolphins at pick No. 6, and Oregon tackle Penei Sewell, chosen by the Lions at No. 7, continued the run of offensive picks. The first defensive player was South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn, taken by the Panthers with the eighth pick.
Jacksonville’s chance to draft Lawrence was one of the factors that lured Coach Urban Meyer out of the broadcast booth and got him back on the sideline. Jacksonville has five of the top 65 picks, including the 25th pick later in Thursday’s opening round.
No matter who else the Jaguars bring in, none of them will compare to Lawrence. He’s now the face of the franchise for the foreseeable future. And Jacksonville is counting on him solving the team’s decades-old problem at the all-important position.
Lawrence enjoyed a stellar college career at Clemson, going 34-2 as the starter and leading the Tigers to three Atlantic Coast Conference titles and the 2018 national championship.
He completed 66% of his passes for 10,098 yards, with 90 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also ran for 18 scores.
He finished second in Heisman Trophy balloting to Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith last season. Lawrence threw for 3,153 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions while missing two games after testing positive for COVID-19 in October.
The Jaguars locked up the No. 1 pick in the next-to-last week of the 2020 NFL regular season, and Lawrence was the target long before Meyer was hired to replace Doug Marrone.
Meyer, General Manager Trent Baalke and owner Shad Khan never tipped the obvious pick, but they didn’t try to disguise it, either.
“No negatives,” Baalke said recently. “All the research we’ve done, you’re always looking for the stars to align when you’re looking at prospects, whether that be from a physical, mental, character aspect, whatever the case may be. With his situation, like many others in this draft, the stars all align and that’s what you’re looking for.”
The Jaguars already gave Lawrence a playbook and held several Zoom sessions with him. Even Khan sat in on at least one, getting to know a player he’s prepared to guarantee nearly $40 million in a five-year deal.
Lawrence is the fourth quarterback drafted by Jacksonville in the last four years, following Tanner Lee (2018), Gardner Minshew (2019) and Jake Luton (2020). Minshew and Luton remain on the roster, but Lawrence is expected to start from Day 1.
The Jets had an opening at quarterback after they dealt Sam Darnold, the third overall selection in 2018, to Carolina earlier this month. The Jets were so impressed with Wilson’s pro day, which was attended by their GM, coach and offensive coordinator, that it became clear Wilson will be the team’s next attempt at finding the franchise quarterback it hasn’t had since Joe Namath.
Even though Jimmy Garoppolo took the 49ers to the Super Bowl two years ago, General Manager John Lynch and Coach Kyle Shanahan felt they needed new blood at the position. They traded up to the No. 3 slot, paying a high price to Miami, so they could select Lance.
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