Mel Kiper: Trevor Lawrence is probably the reason Urban Meyer joined the Jags
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer is expected to announce his staff at some point this week, which will give fans a look at who could help get the team on track. His addition was arguably the most splashy hire of the month for the NFL and some fans are still in shock that he’s the Jags’ new leader.
Acquiring Meyer, a three-time national champion, probably wasn’t the easiest job for owner Shad Khan as Meyer seemed perfectly fine with his job at Fox Sports. Somehow, Khan made it happen though, and most fans are excited about the future.
While the fans may be excited about Meyer’s choice, many analysts have been puzzled by his decision to enter the NFL with the Jags as he’s ultimately putting his legacy on the line. However, lead ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. isn’t one of those people.
In the most recent episode of “First Take,” Kiper stated that he believes the key in the Jags acquiring Meyer was their possession of the first overall pick. Of course, with that, they gained a clear path to Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who could put Meyer in good shape to succeed sooner rather than later.
“They’re hoping [to select] a generational quarterback, who is the John Elway, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck of this draft,” Kiper said about the Jags. “He’s been targeted to be No. 1 since he was in high school. Yes, he didn’t play great against Ohio State or last year against LSU in the championship game. But this year, he lost four starting offensive linemen and the two top receivers.
Let’s face facts, that’s why Urban Meyer is their head coach. It’s because of Trevor Lawrence. If he’s not the No. 1 pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Urban Meyer is probably not there. He’s going there knowing he has a head start on everybody with this generational first-round quarterback Trevor Lawrence.”
Hard to disagree with that.
In his first press conference, Meyer was sure not to tip his hand in terms of a direction at quarterback, singling out Lawrence, Zach Wilson, and Justin Fields for the talent. As a result, many began to speculate about a scenario where the Jags would pass on Lawrence and choose another player.
“You see [Clemson QB] Trevor [Lawrence], you see [Ohio State QB] Justin [Fields], you see [BYU QB] Zach [Wilson]. As Shad said, this is a monumental moment for this franchise. We’ve seen some franchises explode and we’ve seen others fail,” Meyer said.
“I’ve said this many times throughout my career is that when the NFL says it’s a quarterback league, I would say ‘well so is college and so is high school, so is Pop Warner.’ It’s a quarterback sport, so whoever takes that snap, we have got to be right on.”
Sure, Meyer or even general manager Trent Baalke hasn’t come out to specifically say Lawrence is their guy, but none of the NFL’s other 31 teams would show their hand either. With that being the case, fans shouldn’t really worry about Lawrence not wearing black and teal this year as there is too much on the line for Meyer, his staff, and the organization in general.
