Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been talked about as the first overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft since his freshman year and one key step in making that happen is Lawrence foregoing his remaining eligibility at the ACC school.
Lawrence hasn’t said much to suggest he’s thinking of staying in school and he’s on track to graduate in December. The option to return is still on the table, though, and Lawrence didn’t rule it out on Tuesday.
“My mindset has been that I’m going to move on,” Lawrence said, via Pete Iacobelli of the Associated Press. “But who knows? There’s a lot of things that could happen.”
The Jets have the league’s worst record at 0-7 and their current quarterback Sam Darnold has already fielded questions about the possibility of Lawrence coming to the team.
Lawrence’s comments on Tuesday will have some thinking back to what happened when the 1997 Jets had the first overall pick. Peyton Manning was set to be the top pick if he left Tennessee, but he opted to remain in school another year and went to the Colts with the top pick the next year.