Jaguars Poll: Grading Trevor Lawrence’s Preseason Week 1 performance

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of our “Jaguars Poll” series.

Today, we’re asking: how would you grade the Preseason Week 1 performance of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence?

Trevor Tracker

First, let’s take a look at the numbers.

Lawrence completed 3 of 4 pass attempts for 42 yards for 1 touchdown with 1 sack taken.

The only quarterback with a higher passer rating in Preseason Week 1 was Jordan Love, who completed 2 of 2 attempts for 63 yards and 1 touchdown.

Lawrence almost had a perfect game — his fourth down sack (which we’ll get to later) was the only negative outcome of his 5 dropbacks on Saturday night.

The case for an above-average grade

Lawrence’s first drive began in excellent field position after Parker Washington’s big return.

On 2nd-and-10 from Kansas City’s 20-yard line, Lawrence bootlegged left and connected with Luke Farrell for a 13-yard pickup. Two plays later, he found Travis Etienne wide open in the end zone on an ‘angle’ route.

Lawrence’s best throw came on his second and final drive, when his read progressed from Evan Engram to Brian Thomas Jr. to Gabe Davis.

Lawrence’s final throw of the evening was a dart to Davis, who was cutting out towards the sideline on 3rd-and-5. Davis couldn’t keep his feet in, which was confirmed by officials after Jacksonville unsuccessfully challenged the result.

The case for a below-average grade

Lawrence’s only dropback that didn’t result in a pass attempt was an ugly one.

On the play after the incompletion to Davis, Lawrence made the correct pre-snap adjustment by switching the play to one that would beat man coverage. But he hung on to Thomas Jr. for too long, hoping to get the rookie a fourth-down target, and had to eat a sack.

Fans seemed frustrated by the result of this play when it happened, as Engram and Christian Kirk were both open-enough to get the first down. Personally, I don’t have a problem with Lawrence’s decision to prioritize getting his wide-eyed receiver some experience over putting the team in a better position to score in a preseason game.

When asked postgame if he regretted not getting rid of the ball, Lawrence replied, “No, not really.”

The case for an average grade

It is the preseason, after all. Maybe we should wait to form opinions until the ‘real’ Week 1.

Time to vote!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments!