Hall of Fame coach compares Trevor Lawrence's potential to Peyton Manning in this regard

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Trevor Lawrence will likely be the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft when the Jacksonville Jaguars make their selection Thursday night, and a lot will be riding on this potential star quarterback.

A lot of hype has been surrounding Lawrence since he helped Clemson to a national championship during the 2018 season as a freshman. Now, the Jaguars will have the opportunity to potentially alter the future of their franchise by picking Lawrence.

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Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy told the Florida Times-Union on Thursday he believes Lawrence could do for the city what Peyton Manning did for Indianapolis in 1998 and beyond.

"What Peyton did was turn the city from an [NBA] Indiana Pacers town into an Indianapolis Colts town," Dungy, who won a Super Bowl with Manning and the Colts and is a Hall of Famer, told the Times-Union. "I think he had a great impact on his team and us as a city. That’s what those generational quarterbacks do. They lift the ability of everybody around them.

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"I’ve been around Trevor a lot at Clemson. I think he has that same ability to do that for the Jaguars."

It was only a few years ago Jacksonville was on the brink of a Super Bowl appearance with a terrifying defense and a subpar quarterback. None of the star players that made the team a championship threat remain.

Lawrence would make the Jaguars one of the hottest tickets in the northern part of the state. The team added wide receiver Marvin Jones in the offseason and will look to build upon the emergence of undrafted running back James Robinson as well.

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Lawrence will be looked at as the hope the Jaguars need to get back into playoff contention and even Super Bowl contention.