Trevor Lawrence Hyped by Jaguars' Arik Armstead, '100 Percent' Among NFL's Elite QBs

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead is ready to put Trevor Lawrence in the discussion as one of the NFL's top quarterbacks.

Appearing on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, Armstead explained that Lawrence "100 percent" belongs in the conversation with the league's best signal-callers going into the 2026 season.

Armstead specifically cited Jacksonville's Week 16 win over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field last season as evidence of Lawrence's evolution into a top-tier player at the position:

"A big area for me and what solidified it for me was that Denver game on the road. Denver coming in, an elite defense, one of the best defenses in the leagues, pass rush, blitzes, playmakers all over the field. They were sending pressure at him, they were throwing zero looks, they were rushing with four with some great guys. But down the stretch, he made plays, he figured it out, he figured out the blitzing concepts that were coming at him, he got the ball in playmakers' hands in a high-pressure situation. So I think that was a big game, going late in the season against Denver, and I think he showed a lot."

The Broncos game was an eye-opener for a lot of Jaguars skeptics. They entered that matchup on a five-game winning streak, but three of those victories were over the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and New York Jets.

Lawrence went into Denver and finished 23-of-36 for 279 yards with three touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown in the Jags' 34-20 victory.

▶️ Full Jaguars-Broncos Recap

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First-year head coach Liam Coen seemed to help unlock the potential in Lawrence that has been talked about since he was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft. He has had flashes of the greatness that was expected of him over the years, but last season marked the first time it all seemed to come together.

Lawrence finished the season with 4,009 passing yards and a career-high 29 touchdown passes. It took the Jaguars and Coen some time to figure things out, but they put it all together down the stretch with eight consecutive wins from Weeks 11-18 to win the AFC South for the first time since 2022.

The season ended on a down note with a 27-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round. Lawrence didn't have his best showing in that game, going 18-of-30 for 207 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Despite the quick postseason exit for the Jaguars, their closing run in the regular season combined with Lawrence's play has given them very high expectations going into 2026.

If Lawrence can play like the elite quarterback that Armstead believes him to be, the Jaguars have the pieces in place to be a Super Bowl contender in the AFC.