They lost the national championship to arguably the greatest college team ever dude. Plus Peyton was handing the ball off to Jamal Lewis.
I’d still take the 2018 Clemson team over the 1997 Tennessee team. And even then, that’s the exception, not the rule. If you look at the greatest college teams of all time, you’ll see their QBs don’t really make it in the NFL.
1995 Nebraska- Tommie Frazier
1972 USC- Mike Rae
2001 Miami- Ken Dorsey
2005 Texas- Vince Young
2004 USC- Matt Leinart
1987 Miami- Steve Walsh
The Alabama teams with McCarron and Coker
1999 Florida State- Chris Weinke
Just naming a few stacked teams that made their QB look good.
Then you take into account the best QBs currently in the NFL and you notice hardly any of them care from programs with talent like Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State have.
Mahomes went to Tech
Wentz went to NDSU
Matt Ryan went to BC
Roethlisberger went to Miami of Ohio
Rivers went to NC State
Wilson went to Wisconsin
Brees went to Purdue
Goff went to Cal
Rodgers went to Cal
Cam Newton went to Auburn, but he overshadowed all the talent there
Ect...
Watson and Jameis Winston are really the only exceptions to this general rule, where you have a starting NFL QB that came from a school with a talent level that’s comparable to the talent surrounding Lawrence.
Brady and Luck went to programs that had great talent, but not to the level of Clemson.
My main point is that a team should be leery of drafting a QB in the first round (and especially if you’re trading up) if that QB was surrounded by talent and never had to take over the game by himself. Lawrence isn’t going to have the talent around him like he has at Clemson, and maybe tap the breaks on a freshman who hasn’t been asked to carry the team like he will in the NFL. And if you’re not going to ask him to carry the team, don’t trade up for him.