Trevor Lawrence seen as Jaguars breakout player in 2022

There weren’t many positives in Urban Meyer’s short stint as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence’s rookie season was basically wasted. But with Doug Pederson now at the helm and after a massive free-agent haul, there are reasons to believe the young quarterback could have a breakout season in 2022.

Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report recently predicted every NFL team’s potential breakout candidate in 2022 and Lawrence was the choice for the Jaguars. Ballentine points out that the former Clemson Tiger struggled as a rookie, throwing 17 interceptions, tied with Matthew Stafford for most in the league. However, he thinks Lawrence should do way better in Year 2 due to the changes the Jaguars have made to their coaching staff and their roster this offseason.

"This season should be much different for Lawrence. For starters, he’s getting to exchange Urban Meyer for Doug Pederson as his head coach. Meyer’s NFL tenure lasted 13 games. Pederson once won a Super Bowl with Nick Foles at quarterback. That alone is enough to believe Lawrence can get much closer to living up to the hype in 2022. What the Jags did in free agency should help too. You can argue they overpaid for some of these players, but lineman Brandon Scherff, tight end Evan Engram and receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones are going to help elevate the offensive talent level."

Pegged as a generational talent ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, Lawrence didn’t live up to expectations in 2021 but it’s hard to blame him. In fact, anybody that had been in his position would have most likely struggled given that the Jaguars were a mess under Urban Meyer. There was no plan in place to develop him and the former head coach often disagree with his coaching staff on what offense to run.

The Jaguars will now get to see what Trevor Lawrence can do.

There’s no doubt that hiring Doug Pederson as the head coach will have a positive impact on Trevor Lawrence. After all, Pederson helped Carson Wentz play at an MVP level in his sophomore campaign, and even after he went down with an injury, Nick Foles kept the Philadelphia Eagles afloat and helped them win Super Bowl 52.

Furthermore, Lawrence will be the biggest beneficiary of all the signings the Jaguars’ brass made in free agency. He will now throw passes to a wide receiver corps that includes Christian Kirk and Zay Jones. Laviska Shenault (if not traded) should rebound in 2022. Marvin Jones Jr. and Laquon Treadwell will also be back, so the sophomore quarterback won’t be lacking weapons. If that wasn’t enough, Jacksonville signed offensive guard Brandon Scherff to ensure he has optimal protection.

All the moves the Jags made should help Lawrence put his talent on full display and have performances like the one he had against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18 more often. In that game, he completed 71.88 percent of his passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Jaguars know they have a potential franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence and have taken the necessary steps to ensure he is in a position to succeed. All things considered, it’s easy to see why he could have a breakout year in 2022.