Trevor Lawrence on lessons from 2021: I have a great appreciation for winning

Trevor Lawrence got a rude awakening when he arrived as the No. 1 pick in the NFL. His Clemson Tigers lost just three games in three years with the school. His Jacksonville Jaguars lost 14 in just his rookie season. That’s quite the shift from competing in the College Football Playoff to being at the bottom of the NFL barrel. Still, Lawrence thinks it’ll help him in the long run.

Lawrence recently spoke to Colin Cowherd in an interview on ‘The Herd‘. He said the year was a wake up call but one that taught him to stay positive through his 17 games.

“Yeah, I mean, it was a long year for sure. I’d say I think I stayed pretty positive the whole year. There were definitely some times where – especially after games where you’re going home and you’re just like, man, we’re on a losing streak of five or six games in a row – it gets a little rough. I hadn’t lost more than five or six games probably my whole career up until that point. That was definitely a reality check for sure,” said Lawrence. “Just trying to stay positive, try to keep the team together. I think that’s something I did the whole season. It was challenging.”

Trevor Lawrence inherited quite the mess with the 2021 Jaguars. Those struggles were led by the disaster that was Urban Meyer’s 13-game NFL stint. It all forced him to be the leader an NFL quarterback is meant to be. In the end, he says it changed his perspective on the idea of winning and gave him a new respect for it.

“I think I learned a lot from last year. Obviously, you get a different perspective than when you’re just winning like I had in the past,” Lawrence said. “I have a lot greater appreciation for winning, for one. Then just being able to overcome some of those challenges, face all of them, and then now going to a new year with a lot of confidence, good team around us, great staff – I’m really excited.”

Lawrence will try to bounce back from a rookie season that saw him tie for the NFL lead in interceptions with 17. Another year of development will be key for the improvement of his statistics. Still, if he has already been through trials to help him grow as a leader, that’s a solid first step for a 22-year old franchise quarterback.