JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It looks like Trevor Lawrence is headed to Jacksonville.

Jaguars coach Urban Meyer told NBCSports.com that the team is leaning toward taking the former Clemson quarterback with the top pick in the 2021 NFL draft next month.

"I'd have to say that's the direction we're going," Meyer told Peter King. "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."

The Jaguars have been searching for a franchise quarterback since Mark Brunell and the early days of the franchise in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. The team gave second-year player Gardner Minshew the chance to prove he could be the long-term starter last season, but he struggled after a good start in the first two weeks, hid a thumb injury from the staff and lost his job to rookie Jake Luton and eventually veteran Mike Glennon.

The Jaguars have drafted three other quarterbacks in the first round: Byron Leftwich (2003), Blaine Gabbert in 2011 and Blake Bortles (2014).