They were put into a tough situation to be sure. He did very well following the Urban Meyer debacle year, for basically a season and a half. They should have extended the fifth year option to see what this season would hold. That’s why it’s there. As a #1 pick, that’s a substantial extension on its own.
Instead, they rushed to commit to Lawrence and have to make it work cap-wise for a much longer period of time than if they waited.
I will say that, even if his ceiling is Kirk Cousins-esque, there is something to be said for being able to get your team to the playoffs just about every year. It keeps the fan base engaged, you know that tickets and merchandise won’t be an issue and you get a piece of the post-season pie every year. So say the Jaguars did move on, and they go through a seven year period where they only make the playoffs once? As a Washington fan who experienced this, I would’ve rather kept Cousins.