Mike Tannenbaum Puts Trevor Lawrence Under Pressure Ahead of Supposed Do-or-Die Season in 2025

The hype surrounding Trevor Lawrence prior to declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft was something rarely seen. This was Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck-type stuff. Fans in stadiums of struggling teams held up signs reading #TankForTrevor on a weekly basis.

And at first, he somewhat lived up to the hype. After a brutal rookie year with Urban Meyer, Doug Pederson came aboard, and Lawrence had a Pro Bowl year in 2022 and led the Jacksonville Jaguars to one of the largest playoff comeback wins in NFL history. However, his play has noticeably dipped since then.

The Jaguars lost five of their final six games in 2023, choking away a playoff spot, and the team was even worse last year. They went 2-5 without Lawrence, and 2-8 with the former No. 1 overall pick in the lineup. So even though it’s only been two down years, textbook overreactor Mike Tannenbaum insists the 2025 season is do-or-die for Lawrence, even pointing to flaws in his fundamentals.

“Dan [Orlovsky] talked about [Trevor’s] mental mindset, I think it’s much more about his fundamentals. He was coached by Doug Pederson. Doug Pederson knows how to coach quarterbacks,” Tannenbaum started his explanation.

“He had a 60.6 percent completion percentage, which was 31st in the NFL [last year], he was 29th in completion above expectation. That’s not good enough for somebody that’s that good. And Doug Pederson is a fundamentals-based coach. So to me, this is about his fundamentals more than anything,” he added.

After firing Pederson, the Jaguars hired supposed offensive guru Liam Coen as their new head coach and traded up to draft WR/CB Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall. This, after using their first-rounder on another wideout, Brian Thomas Jr., last year.

Lawrence did deal with several injuries during the 2024 season, but when he was in, he didn’t look great either. That’s why Tannenbaum thinks it’s “getting late early” for the former No. 1 pick, suggesting the Jaguars should already be thinking ahead to 2025 … and even consider drafting a quarterback if Lawrence doesn’t show meaningful progress this year.

“I know he was hurt last year, I think he’s got a little bit of a free pass. I know he has guaranteed money next year. But to me it’s getting late early, and if I’m Liam Coen and their new general manager I’m thinking about drafting a quarterback if we don’t see meaningful improvement.”

"I'm thinking about drafting a quarterback if we don't see meaningful improvement [from Trevor Lawrence]."

—@RealTannenbaum on if this season is make or break for Trevor Lawrence 😯 pic.twitter.com/69IXbD5jTR

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 18, 2025

Without skipping a beat, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reminded Tannenbaum that Jacksonville just traded their 2026 first-rounder in the deal for Hunter. So that’s not happening. Not to mention that Lawrence is still only 25, he’s 6’6″ and 220 pounds, he can run, and he’s got a rocket for an arm.

Oh, and let’s not forget the five-year, $275 million deal he signed in 2024. That deal has $200 million in guaranteed money and $142 million guaranteed at signing. It seems pretty clear that Jacksonville is going to give this Lawrence-Coen a real shot. So, unless the former Clemson standout has an epic fall-off, Derek Anderson/RG3-type falloff, Lawrence has got at least two more years to figure it out.