Pro Football Focus recently published a list of 10 NFL players who struggled as rookies but are under pressure to perform in Year 2 — some of the players going into their second season under the most pressure to improve and prove they are the players their teams believed them to be when they were drafted in 2021, and not a disappointment.

Former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in last year’s draft, is the first player to appear on PFF’s list.

As a rookie, Lawrence completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 3,641 yards and had 12 touchdown passes with 17 interceptions. He averaged 6.0 yards per attempt and had an overall PFF grade of 59.6.

Here is some of what PFF’s Sam Monson wrote about Lawrence as he heads into his second NFL campaign and first under new Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson:

Few players have entered the league with Lawrence’s hype and expectation. From very early in his college career, he was hailed as the next great quarterback prospect, and the hyperbole only intensified as he approached the draft. Lawrence was seen as the best prospect since at least Andrew Luck (2012), but potentially even as far back as Peyton Manning (1998) or even John Elway (1983).

… While he made mistakes and had some growing pains, his lack of truly impressive flashes was the most concerning aspect of his rookie year. Obviously, the situation around him was a mess. Urban Meyer fronted one of the most dysfunctional regimes in NFL history, and the supporting cast was far from ideal, leading to an environment that Lawrence was never likely to overcome. Nonetheless, he needs to show some of that promise in his second season. Jacksonville threw money around this offseason, but the franchise’s biggest move was likely removing Meyer and replacing him with Doug Pederson, whose main task now becomes to coax some encouraging play from Lawrence.

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