Jaguars have a shot to ‘put scares into teams’ because of Trevor Lawrence

The Jacksonville Jaguars made several important moves in the offseason but their success in 2022 or lack thereof will be dependent on Trevor Lawrence, who is expected to make a leap in Year 2. Steve Wyche of NFL Media says the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft will help the Jags give opposing teams this upcoming season.

Wyche said on NFL Now that Jacksonville and Atlanta Falcons coaches told him that Lawrence’s decision-making has improved significantly and adds that the Jaguars will be much better because of him.

"What Doug Pederson and the offensive coaching staff have done with Trevor Lawrence actually has people saying the Jaguars are going to be so much better than last year, they have to be material last year. They were terrible last year but they have a shot to put some scares into some teams because of Trevor Lawrence."

Last year, Lawrence completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 3,641 yards with 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, tied with Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams) for the most in the league. But he’s expected to make a leap in Year 2 due to the arrival of Doug Pederson, known for his work with quarterbacks, and a much improved supporting cast. Here’s the clip of Wyche discussing Lawrence’s growth and the Jaguars.

Trevor Lawrence has the Jaguars trending in the right direction

Most rookies have growing pains in their transition to the NFL and Trevor Lawrence was no different in spite of his status as a generational talent coming out of college. However, there were several factors beyond his control that made things even harder for him.

For starters, Urban Meyer didn’t have a plan in place to develop Lawrence and was highly unqualified to run an NFL team. Also, once injuries hit the Jaguars’ wide receiver corps, their dearth of depth was exposed. On the bright side, Meyer is now out of the picture and the Jaguars have spent the offseason ensuring the former Clemson Tiger is in a position to succeed.

Besides bringing in a coaching staff that knows what they’re doing, Jacksonville revamped Lawrence’s supporting cast in the offseason. Signing Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in free agency has made Laquon Treadwell and Laviska Shenault, two of his top two targets in 2021, expendable. Also, the front office made several upgrades to the defense, including but not limited to drafting outside linebacker Travon Walker first overall, and signing linebacker Foyesade Oluokun and defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi.

The Jaguars are a much better team than they were last year, at least on paper. But if Trevor Lawrence does indeed make strides in his sophomore campaign, they will have a realistic shot at making noise and possibly contend for the AFC South crown in Pederson’s first season at the helm.