In the 2023 season, Trevor Lawrence will establish himself as a truly elite quarterback and will become a viable MVP candidate. I am buying into a few teams in 2023 that weren’t exactly juggernauts in 2022.
One of those teams is the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that’s all due to Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson. The Jags were a breakout team in 2022, going 9-8 and securing the AFC South division title. They also won a playoff game on one of the best comebacks you’ll ever see.
Trevor Lawrence also made huge strides as a passer and slowly began to perform as many had assumed he would. Lawrence threw for 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2022, much better than his 12-touchdown, 17-interception performance in 2021 as a rookie.
I think most were surprised to see the team make the leap that they did, as Urban Meyer’s tenure in Jacksonville in 2021 was nothing short of an utter disaster.
In 2023, the Jaguars will win double-digit games and two playoff games. They’ll do this on the backs of a top-seven offense and an improved defense. The Jags’ offense will get Calvin Ridley into the fold, who was suspended for the entire 2022 season.
Ridley is an elite receiver that I think many have forgotten about. The Jags also bring back most of their offensive starters from 2022.
The biggest thing I’m looking out for, though, is Trevor Lawrence’s second year in Doug Pederson’s offense. You may remember a quarterback by the name of Carson Wentz who took an astronomical leap in year two in Pederson’s offense. In fact, not only would he have won the MVP award in 2017 had he not torn his ACL, but the Eagles also won the Super Bowl that year, only in year two of the Doug Pederson era.
Trevor Lawrence is a better QB than Wentz at this point in their careers, so I don’t see how Lawrence doesn’t establish himself as an MVP candidate. He’ll easily pass the 30-touchdown mark, perhaps flirting with 40 touchdowns. He’ll keep his interceptions low, throw for a ton of yards, and at least receive MVP votes.
The Jaguars could easily finish as one of the top three seeded teams in the AFC. This is a dangerous team for 2023 and Trevor Lawrence is set to explode.