Trevor Lawrence's spectacular showing in Week 1 has him climbing up the quarterback rankings heading into a showdown against the Denver Broncos.
Trevor Lawrence is turning people into believers after his masterful performance in Week 1 for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The six-year quarterback was in control all afternoon, leading his team to a dominant 34-10 victory over the hapless Cleveland Browns. He completed 18 of his 23 passes (to nine different pass-catchers) for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Lawrence barely seemed to break a sweat in the latest of a string of dominant outings.
Up next for Lawrence and the Jaguars is a road matchup against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos are coming off a 31-10 Monday Night Football loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite the poor showing, Denver's defense is expected to be among the NFL's best this season.
The Broncos should provide a much stiffer challenge for Lawrence than the Browns were able to muster, but that didn't stop Nick Shook of NFL.com from vaulting Lawrence into the top five of his Week 2 QB rankings.
Prior to Week 1, Shook had Lawrence only 12th in these same rankings, though he did say the 2021 top overall pick was the "most fascinating" QB in his second tier.
Now Lawrence is ranked in Shook's top tier, fourth overall. The only quarterbacks ranked above him are Josh Allen, Caleb Williams, and Lamar Jackson.
"Things looked too easy for Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars, who shredded Cleveland's defense all afternoon in Jacksonville. Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers and even Brenton Strange all renewed their connection with Lawrence, who picked up right where he left off at the end of the 2025 season."
Impressive Start To MVP-Level Season
After being a finalist for MVP for the first time in his career last season, Lawrence has been a dark horse pick to take home the award this year.
If the Lawrence we saw against Cleveland is the Lawrence we will see going forward, it may indeed be an MVP-level season for the Jaguars' leader. Going back to the second half of the 2025 season, Lawrence hasn't had a stretch this dominant since his college days.
Damien Harris of CBS Sports says this version of Lawrence is reminding him of the superstar the QB was at Clemson, before entering the NFL as the most-hyped quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck.
Lawrence's passer rating of 150.6 against the Browns led the NFL in Week 1 and was the highest mark of his career.
If he can turn in a similar showing against Denver's defense this week, Lawrence may become the early front-runner for the award.
Final Thoughts
Lawrence made a statement in Week 1 to all those who doubted him and questioned whether he had truly arrived among the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
It may have only been against the Browns, who are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league this year, as they have started a brand new rebuild after trading reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, but Lawrence was able to pick up where he left off last season.
Lawrence came into this season ranked outside the top 10 in most QB rankings. It only took one game for him to catapult into the top five.
How high he continues to rise in the rankings will be a fun side plot for the Jaguars this year as they try to reach the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl.
