Trevor Lawrence isn’t exactly thrilled with Kyle Brandt’s latest quarterback takes.
On Wednesday, the beloved “Good Morning Football” host unveiled his AFC quarterback tiers, putting the third-year Jaguars star toward the bottom of the bunch in a group with the Patriots’ Mac Jones, the Steelers’ Kenny Pickett and the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa.
Lawrence, who ranked only above a trio of rookies selected in last week’s NFL Draft, responded to the list on Twitter a day later, writing: “The game ain’t played on paper.”
The first-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence endured a tumultuous rookie season under head coach Urban Meyer before taking a step forward in 2022 with Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson at the helm.
Through 17 regular season games last year, Lawrence threw for 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions, compared to 3,641 yards, 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his rookie season.
Lawrence also helped lead the Jaguars to an AFC South title in 2022.
Brandt — who ranked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at No. 1, followed by the Bills’ Josh Allen and the Bengals’ Joe Burrow in the second tier— said Lawrence’s shaky play in the first half of Jacksonville’s wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers contributed to his placement.
“[Trevor] Lawrence was the most popular response on Twitter,” Brandt said in regard to his list, with “Good Morning Football” asking both its co-hosts and fans, “Who is misranked, most likely to jump up, and under the most pressure to win?”
“I love him, like most of us do. I feel like last year was really his true rookie year because the year before they had Urban Meyer [as] head coach, a disaster. Wins a playoff game, despite playing terribly in the first half then makes the comeback, so, it’s complicated. I got a lot of heat on Lawrence.”
Lawrence threw four interceptions in the Jaguars’ postseason matchup against the Chargers before bouncing back with four touchdowns.
The Jaguars defeated the Chargers before losing the following week in the divisional round to the Chiefs — the eventual Super Bowl champion.
Jason McCourty and NFL Media reporter Mike Garafolo, on “Good Morning Football” with Brandt, then expressed that Lawrence could rise through the ranks in 2023, with Brandt noting his rankings “are not on stone tablets, just me in my basement messing around.”
“Trevor should already be in [tier] five, and maybe he jumps up to four, maybe he jumps up to three in that category with those guys,” said McCourty, referencing the third tier of new Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Chargers’ Justin Herbert, and Lamar Jackson of the Ravens.
Lawerence, whose Jaguars finished 9-8, is also coming off of his first Pro Bowl season.