Media personality thinks Doug Pederson can lead Jaguars to big turnaround in 2022

Keyshawn Johnson of ESPN made headlines last year because he wasn’t convinced Trevor Lawrence was the solution to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback woes. However, he’s changed his tune a bit since then. Earlier this year, he said the Jags have the potential to make a big leap, and he now believes they have a chance to win the AFC South in 2022, head coach Doug Pederson’s first year at the helm in Jacksonville.

Johnson partook in a roundtable that discussed the impact Pederson has had on the Jags and how he’s put Trevor Lawrence in a position to succeed. The former NFL player/turned TV analyst says the 2022 Jaguars remind him of when Bill Parcells took over the New York Jets in 1997. Johnson says right off the bat that he isn’t comparing Pederson to Parcells but sees some parallels between the two teams.

"What Bill brought, like both of you guy said, put it together, plus the stability of the head coach that’s done it before, that understands how to be a head coach, how to treat every human being in the building. On top of that, he knows offense. He knows defense. He knows how to deploy different guys and put them in good situations."

Johnson goes on to say that Pederson can potentially lead the Jaguars to a winning season and help them win their first AFC South title since 2017 due to the weak state the division is currently in.

"This division alone, y’all notice is not very good, right? They can win this division in nine games, ten games and can find themselves in the playoffs with a big turnaround in a heartbeat."

Keyshawn Johnson has been consistent about the Jaguars in 2022

Johnson’s comment about Pederson treating people in the building like human beings is a reference to Urban Meyer’s lack of emotional intelligence and the ability to lead the team. So far, it looks like Jaguars players are buying into the head coach’s approach, which is one of the reasons they beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 and have a chance to pull off the upset against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.

Pederson recently talked about the model he’s using to coach, the ‘So What, Now What‘ philosophy, which focuses on what’s next ahead without taking past outcomes into account. So basically, the Jags will face off against the Bolts thinking they’re 0-0, not 1-1.

On the other hand, Johnson hasn’t talked about Trevor Lawrence much, and it’s interesting to think whether his stance on the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft has changed since last year.

Now, it’s been only two weeks. The Jaguars need to find more consistency and win a few more games before they can truly be talked about as the leading contenders for the AFC South title. But for the time being, they have done enough that talking heads are starting to notice them. That shows they’re currently headed in the right direction.