![Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) takes a snap during the Jaguars 14th NFL training camp session at Miller Electric Center Tuesday August 12, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this Sunday in their second preseason game. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_20,w_2229,h_1253/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/55/01k2j4dmkgr3j4vbkb3n.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) takes a snap during the Jaguars 14th NFL training camp session at Miller Electric Center Tuesday August 12, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this Sunday in their second preseason game. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]")
The Jacksonville Jaguars are expected to steer the ship in the right direction after failing to make the playoffs each of the past two years. To make it happen, they hired Liam Coen as their head coach and James Gladstone as the general manager. The duo is making an effort to change the culture and get the Jags going in Year 1.
Based on a prediction on Bleacher Report, they may be able to pull it off. On the other hand, there's a chance they come up short, and if that's how things end up playing up, it will likely be because their most prominent player fails to come through.
The worst-case prediction for the Jaguars will come true if Trevor Lawrence fails to deliver
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report drew up a list of boom-or-bust NFL teams for the 2025 season and included the Jaguars, pointing out that their fortunes will be highly dependent on whether Trevor Lawrence can get back to form. The best-case scenario has No. 16 once again playing like a top-10 quarterback.
"Trevor Lawrence finally comes through thanks in part to the tutelage of a new regime and the emergence of young talents Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr.," Gagnon wrote. "The Jags win the AFC South."
On the other hand, Lawrence fails to find consistency and struggles in spite of Liam Coen's tutelage in Gagnon's bust scenario.
"Lawrence again struggles with consistency and/or durability, the defense remains a liability following a lack of improvements, and the team as a whole fails to adapt to considerable offseason changes," Gagnon said.
The silver lining is that Gagnon predicts that the Jaguars will "be in the mix for the division title," noting that they are too talented not to compete in an AFC South that is up for grabs.
Related: Trevor Lawrence could give the Jaguars their own version of Andrew Luck
The Jaguars need Liam Coen to get the most out of Trevor Lawrence
One of the reasons the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Liam Coen was that they needed someone to get the most out of Trevor Lawrence. Based on his track record working with quarterbacks, he's the right man for the job.
Coen has gotten Matthew Stafford, Will Levis (at Kentucky), and Baker Mayfield to play at a high level. It's fair to say to assume that he can do the same with Lawrence, and based on the early results, it looks like the former Clemson Tiger is trending in the right direction.
Since the moment he arrived in Duval, Coen has been working with Lawrence to fix his mechanics. More recently, the focus has been on his reads and going through his progressions. So far, the fifth-year quarterback has shown improvement in training camp and the preseason. Now the question is whether that can carry over into the regular season.
On top of that, Lawrence must prove that he can stay healthy, something he's failed to do the past two seasons. Sure, you could argue that he's had less than ideal protection, and that's led him to get hurt. On the other hand, availability is the most important ability on the football field, and he's failed to avoid the injury bug, regardless of the circumstances.
The good news is that Lawrence is the healthiest he's been in a while. Moreover, the front office beefed up the offensive line and upgraded his arsenal of weapons in the offseason, so he's got what seems to be the best-supporting cast of his career.
This is a long-winded way to say that the pieces are there for Trevor Lawrence to bounce back in 2025, and if he does, the Jaguars have a good chance of turning heads. If he doesn't, though, this could turn out to be a long season.