Jaguars HC lays out exactly what the next step for Trevor Lawrence is
The best is yet to come for Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and his coaching staff understands that very well. After a rookie season spoiled by Urban Meyer's reign which was as chaotic as it was short-lived, Lawrence had his breakout year in 2022 as he helped the Jaguars to a playoff win and the […]
The best is yet to come for Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and his coaching staff understands that very well.
After a rookie season spoiled by Urban Meyer's reign which was as chaotic as it was short-lived, Lawrence had his breakout year in 2022 as he helped the Jaguars to a playoff win and the NFL's sixth-best passing offense per Football Outsiders' DVOA.
Lawrence was able to show more of what made him such a hyped-up quarterback years before he even heard his name called in the 2021 NFL Draft. Now the question is, what is the next step for Trevor? The Jaguars' head coach offers an answer.
"I think going into his year three, year two with us and the staff, I think the way he played the back half of the season is the way he needs to start this year," Doug Pederson told Rich Eisen during an interview on his show.
To be totally fair, Lawrence was already one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league in the first half of the season. In fact, between weeks 1-9, he ranked 8th in QB efficiency (measured by advanced metrics EPA and CPOE) per analytics website rbsdm.com.
Lawrence took it to another level in the second part of the season though, as he ranked fourth in the NFL from Week 10 on. But Pederson is talking about more than just mere efficiency. He's thinking of the confidence of the young Jaguars quarterback and the big moments.
"There was a lot of confidence at the end of the year with him," added the Jags coach. "And that's the next phase. Right? It's putting all of that together."
Being that consistent in big moments and remaining as confident is perhaps the one missing ingredient to start being mentioned alongside Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and the rest of the league's elite quarterbacks.
Already there are rankings out there that include Lawrence as a Top 5 quarterback. A strong year on his part could solidify his status even further. Last year, he and those three QBs were the last ones standing in the AFC playoffs.
"I think he's chasing that," admitted Pederson about the Jaguars quarterback. "I think he's close to putting himself with that group, and he's very capable of putting himself in that group. Those guys have, obviously, they've got a couple of years of experience on him, but he's heading in the right direction."
Featured image via Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
