The Jaguars have done all they can to support franchise QB Trevor Lawrence. They drafted Brian Thomas Jr. last year. They traded up for Travis Hunter this year. They hired offensive guru Liam Coen. It’s been a proactive effort.
But maybe Jakobi Meyers was the final piece to the puzzle, the skeleton key needed.
Advertisement
Lawrence wasn’t doing anything special through the first couple of months. Consider his first eight games: the Jags were 5-3 despite middling Lawrence production. He had a piddly 6.3 YPA, nine touchdowns against six picks, a mediocre 79.7 passer rating. Jacksonville was scoring 22 points per game.
At that point, the Jaguars made the trade for Meyers. And it’s been a eureka moment.
The Jaguars lost the first game of the Meyers era, no fault to the offense. It was a 36-29 overtime defeat to Houston. Since then the Jags have won six straight, beating some strong teams in that mix (Chargers, Broncos). And Lawrence has taken off over this period.
The stats jump off the page. Lawrence has 17 touchdowns against five picks over his last seven games, good for a 104.8 rating and an 8.2 YPA. Jacksonville is averaging 33.4 points a game in the stretch, posting 25 points or better every week. And when you easily move the ball against defenses like the Chargers, Texans and Broncos, you earn street cred — and fantasy cred.
Advertisement
Lawrence had a so-so fantasy resume in the first two months, helped occasionally by some resourceful running. Consider those first eight finishes: QB23, QB12, QB28, QB28, QB5, QB13, QB14, QB12. Since the Meyers trade, the numbers are much prettier: QB21, QB11, QB7, QB5, QB13, QB1, QB2.
Lawrence is up to QB4 on the year. And if you grade all the quarterbacks during the past seven weeks, when Lawrence started working with Meyers, the Jacksonville QB jumps to the No. 1 spot, an eyelash above Josh Allen. Lawrence has the tinge of a potential league winner, and he’s already smashed his summer ADP (which was in the QB18 range).
The move has saved Meyers for sure — he was WR52 on the broken Raiders offense but is WR16 since heading to Jacksonville. His new team understands how important Meyers is — he signed a three-year, $60 million extension last week.
Advertisement
Schematically, it makes sense, too. Meyers is a dominant player in the middle of the field, a tall and fearless target who provides an easy button for Lawrence. You have to respect that the Jaguars would quickly address a receiver gap despite having already invested so much draft capital in Thomas and Hunter. Something was missing (obviously Hunter’s rookie year was mostly ruined by injury) and it was smart to identify a potential fix.
There are moving parts to the Jacksonville offense. Lawrence has taken off and Meyers has been excellent, and Travis Etienne (RB6 the last seven weeks) is also tilting leagues. But the Jaguars have been disappointed in Thomas all year, and Hunter showed little before he was hurt. Brenton Strange is a solid tight end, but likely a capped-upside player. We’ll have plenty to sort out in Duval County next season.
But maybe there’s something shinier even before those conversations start. In the current year where the AFC feels wide open, Jacksonville has a puncher’s chance against anyone. I was ready to follow Liam Coen into a burning building after watching him succeed with the Buccaneers. Trevor Lawrence might be ready for that vote of confidence, too.
