Trevor Lawrence must become the focal point of Jaguars’ offseason

Nobody likes to lose, especially in the Super Bowl but the Cincinnati Bengals should be proud of everything they accomplished during the 2021 regular season. Especially when you take into account that they didn’t look like a viable playoff contender, let alone a championship-caliber team last offseason after going 4-11-1 in 2020. If the Jacksonville Jaguars want to have a quick turnaround like the one Cincy just experienced, they will have to build around quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Media recently drew up an article about the things every AFC team must do this offseason to supplant the Bengals in 2022 and he believes the Jags must “find Lawrence help”. Here’s what Rosenthal had to say about the sophomore signal-caller.

"Hiring Doug Pederson was a start. But the Jaguars were so short-handed in receiver talent that Laquon Treadwell and Tavon Austin had huge roles. Starting running back James Robinson will be coming off a late-season Achilles tear, and the solid-enough offensive line has two starters heading to free agency. Lawrence could not play free as a rookie because he was at such a disadvantage in scheme and talent."

Rosenthal is right, and far from the only one that has openly said that the Jaguars didn’t help Lawrence in his rookie campaign and they cannot fail him once again if they want him to turn into the franchise quarterback they thought they were getting when they selected him first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Trevor Lawrence can win games for the Jaguars if they help him.

Hiring Doug Pederson was a good step towards making sure Lawrence has a coach that previously proven he can put his quarterback in a position to succeed and win in the biggest NFL stage. On the other hand, the addition of Pederson alone won’t be enough to propel the former Clemson Tiger into the upper-echelon of NFL quarterbacks. The Jaguars need to make upgrades to pretty much every positional group on offense, and they can’t afford to take half measures.

Sure, the Jaguars have some offensive pieces in place but not enough. Otherwise, they would have ranked better than 32nds (last in the league) in points scored last season. They need to use their $56 million in cap space and their 12 draft picks in 2022 — four in the first three rounds — to fortify their offensive line, revamp their wide receiver corps and bolster their tight end room.

Pederson said during his introductory press conference that the Jaguars won’t have an overnight fix but that doesn’t mean they can’t make changes and see improvements in Year 1 of his tenure as the head coach. The Jags could start by making sure Trevor Lawrence has a better supporting cast than the one he had in 2021.