Dan Orlovsky is right, NFL teams should tank for Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence

Should NFL teams tank for Trevor Lawrence? ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky thinks so and the Jacksonville Jaguars should be listening.

Trevor Lawrence has one more year before he’s eligible for the NFL Draft but NFL teams should be preparing to draft him right now. Tanking for Trevor is going to be the slogan for teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars who may have the worst roster and could be in a position to nab the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

If I was a Jaguars fan, I would be okay with going 0-16 this year because the payoff would be drafting Lawrence who might be the best college football quarterback prospect of all time.

That’s not hyperbole either.

Kirk Herbstreit told FanSided, Lawrence is as good as advertised and in the same elite territory as Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning.

“He’s going to become one of those guys you just start to kind of run out of adjectives to describe him. The only guy that I’ve covered that would even be close to him would be Andrew Luck, maybe going back to Peyton Manning.”

That same high praise was shared by ESPN football analyst Dan Orlovsky on Friday’s episode of Get Up. Orlovsky thinks teams should be tanking because Lawrence is the best prospect since Luck.

“He will be the highest-rated and the most sought-after prospect at that position since Andrew Luck.”

The Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders are teams who may be in a position to be bad enough this year where it’s good for the long-term future of the franchise. Depending on what moves are made in the 2020 draft, especially by the Redskins, Chargers and potentially the Raiders, the Jaguars may be the clear leaders in the Lawrence sweepstakes.

Is tanking for Trevor Lawrence smart and does it work?

Tanking is like a forbidden word that must never be uttered around professional sports teams. But it’s going to be a frequent talking point among fans, sports talk radio, podcasts and blogs. It’s hard to blame them either because if you’re mired in a miserable losing season, having something to look forward to as a beacon of sunshine in an otherwise dark universe is needed.

The Indianapolis Colts didn’t have to actively “suck for Luck” because bad luck hit them first. When Peyton Manning’s neck surgeries kept him out of the entire season, the Colts weren’t in any sort of position to replace him. Of course, they were going to be the worst team in the NFL and get the No. 1 pick to take the Stanford superstar.

Last year, many thought the Miami Dolphins were “tanking for Tua” after Brian Flores came in as the new head coach and most of their talented players were shipped out for draft picks. The Dolphins ended up being better than thought and won too many games to get the No. 1 pick. They have the No. 5 pick and may still end up with the former Alabama quarterback who is recovering from a hip injury that ended his season in November.

Most years, the top pick isn’t such a no-brainer that it’s a consensus decision. If Lawrence was eligible, he would have been the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft ahead of Kyler Murray.

He’s that good.

Suffering through one painful Sunday after another will stink in the short-term but the prize at the end is the best college quarterback prospect ever.

Losing to win is the way teams should view the 2020 NFL season and embrace the “tank for Trevor” movement.

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