Urban Meyer Says Jaguars 'Headed' Toward Drafting Top Prospect

Urban Meyer has confirmed the obvious: the Jacksonville Jaguars are targeting former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence at No. 1 overall in next month's 2021 NFL Draft.

Meyer, who was hired as the team's head coach in January, told NBCSports.com the Jaguars were leaning toward picking Lawrence, the widely projected top overall prospect in the upcoming draft.

"I'd have to say that's the direction we're going," Meyer told Peter King in the latest edition of 'Football Morning in America' published on Monday (March 29.) "I'll leave that up to the owner when we make that decision official. But I'm certainly not stepping out of line that that's certainly the direction we're headed."

Jacksonville has struggled to find a franchise quarterback since Mark Brunell -- who took over during the team's inaugural 1995 season -- was traded to the Washington Football Team prior to the 2004 season. Brunell is the only quarterback in franchise history with more than 100 starts.

The Jaguars gave second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew an opportunity to play for a long-term deal last season, but the former Washington State standout struggled after two impressive starts, hid a thumb injury from team staff and was eventually benched for rookie Jake Lutton and later veteran Mike Glennon.

Jacksonville has selected three quarterbacks in the first-round previously: Byron Leftwich (2003), Blaine Gabbert (2011) and Blake Bortles (2014), with only Leftwich recording a winning percentage higher than .500 -- a franchise best .545 among starters with more than 16 starts -- during four seasons.

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