Jaguars news: Trevor Lawrence poised to make bigger leap in Year 3

The Jacksonville Jaguars would’ve loved to play in the AFC Championship rather than watch from home but they should feel good about their chances of returning. Having continuity at head coach and quarterback should help them return to the playoffs and get over the hump.

During a recent appearance on Jaguars All Access, head coach Doug Pederson revealed that Trevor Lawrence told him he likes going into a season not having to learn a new offense. Pederson also said that the quarterback is poised to make an even bigger leap in Year 3.

“When I spent some time with Trevor here in the last couple of days, had a chance to sit with him and talk about the season”, Pederson said. “That’s one of the things he mentioned to me, how comforting it is and how sort of relaxing it is in a sense that he’s got the same head coach, he’s got the same coordinator, same scheme two years in a row”.

“If you remember back in Philly, we had those guys, second year is when we made our biggest jump with a young rookie quarterback at the time.  So you’re going to see bigger strides from Trevor this offseason, not only individually but I think as a team in Year 2. We’re excited to get back out of the grass and honestly, April 17th really can’t get here fast enough because our guys are excited to get back to work”, Pederson said.

Pederson is alluding to his second year as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. After going 7-9 in 2016, Philly won the Super Bowl the following year and one of the biggest reasons was the play of quarterback Carson Wentz, who played at an MVP level before tearing his ACL. Here’s Pederson’s whole conversation, where he talks about his first year in Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Jaguars expect Trevor Lawrence to be even better in 2023

The Jaguars knew they needed to get Lawrence a head coach that knew what he was doing after the Urban Meyer fiasco. In retrospect, there might not have been a better choice than Pederson.

Speaking of Pederson, he isn’t the only one in the building that believes Lawrence still has room for improvement. General manager Trent Baalke told the local media ahead of the offseason that the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft is “only going to trend upward from there“.

Not having to learn a new offense will no doubt help Lawrence improve in his third NFL season. Similarly, he will benefit from having a wide array of weapons. Even if wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. and tight end Evan Engram leave in free agency, there’s a strong chance Calvin Ridley will get reinstated from his indefinite suspension, which in turn would give the offense a major boost.

The Jags will enter the offseason with higher expectations than usual. That’s not necessarily surprising when you consider that they just won their division and made the playoffs. They should have no trouble returning to the postseason due to the presence of Trevor Lawrence and head coach Doug Pederson, a marriage made in heaven, according to  Baalke.