JACKSONVILLE, FL — With former Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer now the new man in charge for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the one question that is now on everyone’s mind is who will he take as his quarterback with the first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft? Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields?
Lawrence, widely projected as the likely No.1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft that will be held in Cleveland, suffered his second-ever collegiate loss at the hands of Fields, whom was recruited to Ohio State by Meyer after he went into the transfer portal, following his one year at Georgia.
Stats wise, Lawrence in 24 games since 2019, has the slight edge in TD passes (58-56), rushing touchdowns (16-14) and total yards (7,192-5,552), while Fields in 20 games, has the advantage in completion percentage (68.9-67.2) and INT’s (8-12).
As Meyer begins to put together his first-ever NFL staff, one thing that he has an advantage over many first-time rookie head coaches is his uncanny knowledge and connections throughout the Southeast football scene.
The former Gator and Buckeye head coach was acutely aware of Lawrence, due to his exploits in his native Cartersville, Georgia. While it is all but a lock that Meyer will tab the former Clemson Tiger QB to be his man under center down in Duval County, one would be wise to not overlook his relationship with Fields.
In coaching the likes of first round QB’s such as Alex Smith at Utah, Tim Tebow at Florida and Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State, one thing that Meyer looks for in his quarterbacks is a combination of mobility, a strong arm and the ability to run his up-tempo spread-shotgun offense.
Both Fields and Lawrence have those aspects and traits, but in all honesty, Lawrence is the best QB prospect to come out of college since Peyton manning, as he has his arm, plus added mobility. Fields is very good as well, but not worth the top overall pick, nor worth risking if Meyer passes on Lawrence and Fields were to flop down in Jacksonville.
Ultimately, Meyer and Lawrence are all but joined at the hip and set to walk down the NFL aisle. While Fields is destined to be drafted in the top five, in this case, he is just the proverbial bridesmaid in the pending nuptials of Urban and Trevor.