Former Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but recent comments that analysts and fans want to put under a microscope have him facing a little bit of backlash as we approach the event.
What exactly are we talking about?
Trevor Lawrence- and members of the Lawrence family- recently conducted an in-depth interview for a cover story on Sports Illustrated that resulted in a piece that talked about Lawrence’s childhood life, his relationship with family members, his love for football and his faith.
In the article, Lawrence said that he ‘doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder’ and he’s not into making up negativity just to ‘prove doubters wrong.’
"“It’s hard to explain that because I want people to know that I’m passionate about what I do and it’s really important to me, but . . . I don’t have this huge chip on my shoulder, that everyone’s out to get me and I’m trying to prove everybody wrong,” he says. “I just don’t have that. I can’t manufacture that. I don’t want to.” Marissa adds, “There’s also more in life than playing football.”"
A few analysts and many fans took exception to the comments and other ones, saying that this would be a major hit to a draft stock if another QB – particularly Justin Fields- were to say the same things.
seeing so many people applauding the "refreshing take" from Trevor Lawrence in the SI piece
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 14, 2021
wonder how things would look if these quotes came from Justin Fields and his camp pic.twitter.com/EYLi3u3hWn
Louis Riddick was on ESPN’s Get Up this morning and he said he was taken back by the comments.
"“I’ll be honest, I don’t know Trevor Lawrence,” Riddick said. “We’ve been told that he is ‘can’t miss’ and that’s this is why Urban Meyer came out of retirement. I know this about the NFL: There are quarterbacks that are just maniacal in terms of their preparation and their commitment to the game and they do want to win at all costs…”"
Riddick used Tom Brady as an example and said that playing quarterback at the NFL level is hard.
"“Winning at the NFL level, playing quarterback at the NFL level is hard,” Riddick said. “It’s about the details. It’s about the preparation and it’s about the commitment. You’ve got to be committed on that level. The last thing I’ll say is this real quick: Remember people were questioning Justin Fields and his commitment. Had he said this same kind of thing, what do you think we’d be talking about this morning?”"
So, let’s go ahead. Let’s sound the alarms about Trevor Lawrence and his commitment level
Trevor Lawrence is totally going to be a bust, right? Because he is well-rounded, mature and has his priorities in the right order, he’s going to be a bust. There’s no way he can win while having a life outside of football, right?
Oh wait.
Lawrence just finished up a career where he started three years at Clemson and he lost a grand total of two games.
You want to question his commitment? How soon do we forget that it was Trevor Lawrence who saved the 2020 College Football season? He was the voice that changed the narrative when everyone was pushing to cancel the fall season.
Did he have to do that? No. He was going to be the No. 1 overall pick regardless. But, instead, because of his love for the game, he pushed to make it happen. Does that sound like a guy who isn’t committed to his craft?
The truth is that these fans- and you can find them all over social media- and these analysts who are now questioning Lawrence don’t have any idea what they’re talking about when it comes to how he prepares and going off of comments he made talking about his life as a whole aren’t fair in any way, shape or form.
Honestly, it’s ridiculous that this is even a conversation.
As far as the people making a case against Lawrence because of the way some questioned Justin Fields, the one thing we need to remember is that the two aren’t equal. Fields has never been considered the same level of NFL Draft prospect as Trevor Lawrence, though we will say that we don’t think those questions of Fields were fair either.
But you’ve got to remember what you’re talking about when you talk about Lawrence.
Lawrence is the transcendent prospect. Fields is a top-10, possibly top-5 player, but there is a gap. And there’s a gap between Lawrence and Zach Wilson, Mac Jones and Trey Lance, as well. And every single NFL scout would tell you as much.
Anyone who wants to take quotes from this piece- which showed Lawrence’s true nature as a mature, skilled leader who puts his faith first above everything else and who loves his family and friends wholeheartedly- and turn this into some kind of indictment of his football abilities, probably needs to just stay away from NFL Draft talk for a while.