The lead up to the NFL Draft is the period of time that breeds more hot takes and fake reports than almost any other event on the sports calendar.
From talking heads wanting attention to NFL teams utilizing propaganda to help ensure they can draft the player they want, there’s no doubt the next two months will be utter chaos.
And with this former NFL head coach’s shocking hot take on consensus first overall pick Trevor Lawrence, the chaos is officially in full swing.
The idea that former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is a generational talent who will be the first overall pick in the draft is as close to a lock as anything in sports can be.
Lawrence possesses all the characteristics of the prototypical NFL quarterback and led Clemson to a National Title and three College Football Playoff appearances while throwing for more than 10,000 yards and 90 touchdowns in just three seasons.
Quite frankly, not since former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has there been a quarterback who has been more of a surefire can’t-miss talent than Lawrence.
Nevertheless, there are apparently some who, for some odd reason, still doubt Lawrence’s ability and potential.
One of those naysayers is June Jones, a former head coach with more than 30 years experience spread across the NFL, NCAA, CFL, and XFL.
According to Jones, while Lawrence is a good player, he’s not worthy of being selected first overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Hey, I do like him. But I would not take him with the first pick, though,” Jones said in a recent interview. “Everyone is saying that’s the guy at one. But I would trade that pick and take one of these other quarterbacks down the line.”
As far as Jones is concerned, former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones – a guy who most rank no higher than the fourth best quarterback in this class – and BYU’s Zach Wilson, are both better prospects right now than Trevor Lawrence.
Jones’ lack of faith in Lawrence can all be boiled down to the fact that the coach doesn’t believe he is very good at throwing passes over 20 yards.
“What I’ve noticed is, when you see him drop back and throw, let’s say, a 9-route down the field, on those completions that he had over 20 yards, a lot of times his receivers make great plays on those balls,” Jones said.
“And they weren’t right on the money, they weren’t right in stride. The receivers sometimes had to work for the deep ball with him than what (you’d expect from) a great quarterback.”
“He obviously can work on it and improve it,” Jones admitted. “But right now, I kind of like a couple of other guys better.”
Obviously, June Jones has extensive experience coaching football and was known as an offensive guru during his college coaching career.
At the same time, he won less than 38% of the games he coached in the NFL and never coached a quarterback in college who went on to produce in the NFL.
So while Jones has some credibility, it’s hard to see why anyone should believe his opinion trumps the opinions of the rest of the football world who almost universally disagree with his spicy take.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that Jones is proven right and Trevor Lawrence ends up struggling in the NFL.
As with every prospect entering professional sports, there are risks.
But once again, Trevor Lawrence is as close to a slam dunk prospect as anyone can be.
And no matter what, he’s going to be the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, whether the June Joneses of the world like it or not.
Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date with this ongoing story.
