What Made the Jaguars Wait SEVEN Minutes to Draft Trevor Lawrence?

The NFL Draft is normally a bloated broadcast that keeps us fans too clammy-handed and anxious until our team's pick finally arrives.   

Many times the burden of being the No. 1 overall pick is having ten minutes in the war room to figure out if the opportunity to pick any player of their choosing will lead to reviving a franchise, or further burying it.  

For the Urban Meyer-led Jacksonville Jaguars, who took on the No. 1 overall pick this year, the prospects of taking Trevor Lawrence were too good to pass up.

The Clemson QB had been poised to be the next Can’t Miss prospect since Andrew Luck.  

The build, arm, anticipation, strength, and confidence all culminated into Lawrence being the undisputed top pick of the night, while everyone after fought over the remaining options.  

So, why did viewers wait a whole SEVEN minutes before Jacksonville made their first pick? 

In a video released by the Jaguars recounting the historic draft night for the franchise, general manager Trent Baalke gets off the phone with the league and says that the team would need to wait nearly SEVEN minutes before submitting their pick — despite a nearly 100% consensus that approved the Lawrence pick. The move meant to cause a touch more anticipation while everyone waited for the REAL draft to get started after the Jets pick.

As seen in the video, Lawrence was fully unaware as to why the Jaguars took long to confirm his ticket to Jacksonville.  

“These are the longest ten minutes of my life,” said Baalke as he waited for approval to submit his pick. 

According to NFL.com, “The 2021 NFL Draft was seen by an average audience of 6.1 million viewers (TV and digital) across NFL Network, ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and digital channels during the three-day event, making it the third most-watched draft ever.” 

Perhaps this is another example of the inherent demand for networks to build theater when most footballs fans just want to see the picks get called and be on with it. 

This year's draft contained a number of headlines including potential trade destinations, veteran players on the move, and months of coverage surrounding the rookie quarterbacks and were they were headed — which you can mostly thank Trey Lance and the 49ers for.