FLOWERY BRANCH — Holding the fourth pick in the NFL draft in February 2021, Falcons coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot headed up I-85 to attend Trevor Lawrence’s Pro Day in Clemson, South Carolina.
Smith and Fontenot had just landed their positions with the Falcons in January. They had Matt Ryan, who was set to turn 36 that May, at quarterback. They knew, or could at least forecast, they’d be in the quarterback market early in their tenure.
Lawrence, who was an AJC Super 11 pick when at Cartersville High, breezed through a 52-throw passing exhibition at Clemson’s Poe Indoor Facility. A total of 17 NFL teams were on hand for the workout.
The Jaguars, who had hired Urban Meyer as their head coach in January 2021, had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
Why didn’t the Falcons go up to get Lawrence? It’s a move that the franchise did in 2001, when they held the fifth overall pick and traded up with San Diego to land the No. 1 pick that turned into Michael Vick.
“We don’t deal in hypotheticals,” Smith said. “I always joke that I’m sure everybody now has a great film-editing crew. Seems like everybody – it’s my favorite thing, too, after the draft is to watch, it takes three weeks for the movie to come out, and they were like, ‘Damn, we were at 15. Glad (a player) was there.”
The Falcons stayed at No. 4 overall and took Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.
“We got our guy,’” Smith said. “Everybody’s celebrating. They probably do another take or something. I don’t know. The reality is there are a lot of great players.”
The Falcons played a season with Ryan and then tried to make a deal for Deshaun Watson. After they were beaten out by Cleveland, they traded Ryan to the Colts and signed Marcus Mariota. They then drafted Desmond Ridder in the third round of the draft.
The Falcons played 13 games with Mariota before going to Ridder to close the 2022 season. Over the offseason, the Falcons named Ridder the starter, and owner Arthur Blank said the team was hopeful that he’d become the franchise’s quarterback of the future.
Ridder has shown flashes as he’s posted a 4-3 record over seven starts.
The Falcons didn’t have a shot at Zach Wilson nor at Trey Lance because the 49ers traded up to the No. 3 spot and drafted Lance. The Jets took Wilson at No. 2. Justin Fields and Mac Jones were available. Wilson, Lance (who’s been traded already), Fields and Jones have struggled with their respective teams.
Lawrence went through a 3-14 rookie season in which Meyer was fired. Last season, he guided the Jaguars to a 9-8 mark and the AFC South title. The Jaguars beat the Chargers in the wild-card round of the playoffs before bowing out to eventual Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs.
The Falcons, in 2021, wanted to build out their roster and not mortgage the draft capital it would have taken to get Lawrence. The also didn’t enter the Lamar Jackson derby last offseason.
“The way it falls sometimes, it may fall your way,” Smith said. “It may not. A guy may be a great player because he gets in a circumstance that fits him. I can make an argument that a certain place if a quarterback is talented, it may not be the best setup if they don’t have any help or it’s just dysfunctional. I could make that argument, too.”
The Jacksonville situation certainly started out dysfunctional for Lawrence, but Doug Pederson, a former backup NFL quarterback who won a Super Bowl with the Eagles as head coach and with the Packers as a player, was brought in to stabilize things.
The Falcons also got to see Lawrence up-close when they held joint practices together in Flowery Branch last season.
“He was a consensus top pick,” Smith said. “Played a lot of good football at Clemson. I think he’s from up the road here, Cartersville. Live arm. Extremely athletic. Can extend plays and create by doing that.”
The Falcons watched the whole Meyer situation from afar.
“So, been through the way that thing started for him, then you go through transitioning to a new staff,” Smith said. “That can be hard for a young quarterback. Clearly, they got in a rhythm late last year, but a talented football player. The play’s never over unless you get him down or you cover the pass. Like I said, he can make all the throws. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Lawrence had one of the more celebrated careers by a quarterback in college football history from 2018-20. He led Clemson to a national championship as a freshman in 2018. He finished his career going 34-2 (.944) as a starter, the third-best winning percentage by a starting quarterback with at least 30 career starts since Division I split in 1978, trailing only Miami’s Ken Dorsey (.950) and USC’s Matt Leinart (.949), according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Lawrence was a four-year starter in high school and went 52-2, including a 41-game win streak and 14-2 record in the playoffs. He led his team to four region titles and two state titles. He finished with 13,908 passing yards and 161 touchdowns against 21 interceptions.
The Falcons defenders consider him dangerous.
“He has got a lot of playmakers,” Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss said. “A lot of good offensive weapons around him. They had pretty good success last year, winning a playoff game going through all that they did last year and trying to just continue to ride that wave and improve this year.”
Falcons safety Jessie Bates III has studied all of Lawrence’s throws.
“He’s somebody who can make every throw on the field,” Bates said. “Whether it’s to the field or to the boundary. He’s a really good quarterback as far as his years and his experience. He’s played in a lot of big games.”
Lawrence also can hurt defenses by running the ball.
“Trevor has been really decisive with his decision-making,” Bates said. “You can tell they are trying to get the run game going for Trevor. I think Trevor is a guy who’s starting to use his legs a lot more in the offense than before.”
As Ridder is off to a slow start to his NFL career, the Falcons are left to wonder why they didn’t make the bold move to land Lawrence.
