NFL analyst sees Trevor Lawrence as top-5 caliber QB in the NFL

Trevor Lawrence earned a Pro Bowl invite after a strong sophomore campaign. (USAT/Kirby Lee)

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Sunday, April 09 2023

In a year that Trevor Lawrence was the undisputed No. 1 overall NFL draft pick, NBC sports analyst and former QB Chris Simms rated BYU's Zach Wilson higher in his estimation.

Hindsight is 20/20 on just how wrong that assessment was to this point, and Simms is correcting that take by a bold claim in Lawrence's favor.

Simms said recently that he sees Lawrence as "a top-five-ish, if not No. 5" quarterback in the league after two seasons leading the Jacksonville Jaguars offense.

Simms said there isn't much Lawrence has to work on going into that third campaign as a pro.

"To me, it got towards the end of the year (in 2022) where it's just 'Oh, all right, hey, you're Trevor Lawrence,'" Simms said. "Make some of the plays you talked about, you're capable of doing that and more. Maybe a little sloppy with the ball still at times at the end of the year, forcing balls in, just going 'Oh, I think I can make this throw.'"

"We saw that not only in the Chargers game but in the Chiefs game as well, where there were some mistakes but nothing major. It's refining, it's just like, hey, can you take over more in the fourth quarter? Can you make 45 decisions in a row that are perfect instead of 43 out of 45? Can you do that?

"That's where we're getting with Trevor Lawrence, and the way it looked at the end of the year. He's top five-ish, if not No. 5. He's right around there for the way he played at the end of the year and showed the capability of a guy (that goes) 'Get on my back guys. Don't worry, I got us.' He's got a little of that going and that team believes in him."

Lawrence graded No. 11 in the league according to Pro Football Focus (78.6), where the top-5 overall was Joe Burrow (92), Patrick Mahomes (92), Josh Allen (91.8), Jalen Hurts (88.2) and Lamar Jackson (85.2).

In that assessment, Lawrence graded higher as a runner (83.9; 7th) than as a passer (74.1; 14th).

Under new coach Doug Pederson, Lawrence improved from a 59.6 completion rate to 65.5%, 3,641 passing yards to 4,618, 12 TDs to 17 INTs to 30 TDs to 13 INTs and two rushing TDs to five rushing TDs from his rookie season to 2022.