Joe Namath Thinks Trevor Lawrence Could Ask for Trade If Drafted by Jets

Hall of Fame quarterback and New York Jets legend Joe Namath isn't ruling out the possibility of Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence forcing a trade if the Jets take him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. 

When asked about that potential scenario Friday by ESPN's Rich Cimini, Namath said: "Anything could happen in this world, damn near anything—except for the Jets maybe making the playoffs this year. It's happened before, so why would it shock anybody?"

Assuming Lawrence enters the 2021 draft as expected, he is heavily favored to go first overall. As the NFL's only winless team at 0-8, the Jets are in the driver's seat when it comes to landing Lawrence.

Namath specifically mentioned the Eli Manning situation in the 2004 NFL draft. Manning made it clear that he didn't want the then-San Diego Chargers to take him first overall, but they did so anyway.

The Chargers then traded Manning to the New York Giants for No. 4 overall pick Philip Rivers and multiple draft picks.

That worked out well for the Giants, as Manning led them to two Super Bowl victories. Meanwhile, Rivers set passing records across the board during his 16 seasons with the Chargers.

Lawrence has given no indication that he will refuse to play for a team if drafted by them, but the Jets present a less-than-ideal environment for any potential draft pick given their lack of talent on the field and their coaching issues under Adam Gase.

The Jets also haven't reached the playoffs since 2010, which is a longer drought than the one the Chargers were mired in when they took Manning in 2004.

Although he has doubts about whether Lawrence would agree to play for the Jets, Namath believes Lawrence could be a great pick for New York:

"But If Trevor Lawrence is available, I think the upside is tremendous there. Also, I think the upside with Sam [Darnold] is positive, but you're not going to keep both of them. You're not going to take a quarterback No. 1 without getting a couple of high draft choices ... for Sam. It depends on what the powers that be want to do."

The Jets took Darnold third overall in the 2018 NFL draft, and while he has shown some flashes, he is just 11-21 as a starter and his 39-34 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio in 32 career starts is not where it needs to be in order to be a successful NFL quarterback.

Meanwhile, Lawrence has lost just once in 31 career college starts at Clemson. He led the Tigers to a national championship as a freshman in 2018 and took them to the College Football National Championship Game last season as well.

For his career, Lawrence has thrown for 8,778 yards, 83 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, while rushing for 811 yards and 14 touchdowns in 36 appearances.

Lawrence missed Clemson's last game and will miss Saturday's clash with Notre Dame after testing positive for COVID-19, but he is a stud when he is on the field, and as one of the most highly rated quarterback prospects ever, it is difficult to envision any team passing him up with the No. 1 overall pick.