Like the Jacksonville Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence is flying under the radar in 2025, and understandably so. Expected to take the league by storm when he was drafted, he's instead failed to live up to the "generational talent" moniker. In fact, No. 16 is coming off an underwhelming campaign and will have lots to prove next season. Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports believes he'll come through.
Benjamin drew up a list of players who are in a position to bounce back after injury-riddled seasons in 2025 and included Lawrence, pointing out that he'll benefit from the arrival of Liam Coen and Travis Hunter.
"After playing through a myriad of bumps and bruises in 2023, Lawrence was finally sidelined in 2024, missing seven of the Jacksonville Jaguars' final eight games in an already-dysfunctional season. Now entering Year 5 of his much-anticipated NFL career, the former No. 1 overall pick should benefit from a fresh play-caller in Liam Coen, plus an added pass catching weapon in Travis Hunter. It's arguable his biggest hurdle in 2025 won't be returning to health but making smarter decisions with the football."
Doug Pederson was Lawrence's head coach last season. Although the former Clemson Tiger showed progress early on, his mechanics and decision-making were sloppy in 2024. Some of that was his fault. Plenty of it was caused by Pederson not being actively involved in Lawrence's development and delegating it to right-hand man Press Taylor. Coen will change that.
During his stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Coen was highly invested in Baker Mayfield and helped him post career numbers in several statistics. He should be able to have a similar impact on Lawrence. But as Benjamin noted, that won't be the only reason the Knoxville, Tennessee native will show out.
General manager James Gladstone beefed up the offensive trenches, adding a couple of starters and much-needed depth. Aside from Hunter, the Jags also added Dyami Brown to the wide receiver corps. Opposing teams will no longer be able to double-team Brian Thomas Jr., which will allow Steeze Trev to connect with him often.
Simply put, the pieces are there for Trevor Lawrence to take the league by storm.
The Jaguars will be thrilled if Trevor Lawrence bounce back in 2025
Trevor Lawrence is still the same quarterback he was when the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him. It's just that he hasn't gotten enough help to fulfill his promise. It doesn't help that he's had to deal with injuries the past two years, which has, in turn, hindered his performance. Heading into the 2025 season, though, both Lawrence and the Jags will need to do their part if they want to steer the ship in the right direction.
The fifth-year quarterback will need to take advantage of the upgrades to the offensive line and his arsenal of weapons the front office has made the past few months. Similarly, he must maximize the coaching he'll get from Liam Coen and his staff. Last but not least, he'll need to stay healthy. Granted, there's an element of randomness that comes with injuries, but availability is the most important ability on the football field.
On the other hand, the Jaguars must keep helping Lawrence, so he doesn't have to put the team on his back, something that often happened the past two years. Drafting Travis Hunter will certainly help, and so will a renewed commitment to pounding the football.
Circling back to Cody Benjamin's assessment of Trevor Lawrence and the likelihood he'll bounce back, it's doable, but it will require a collaborative effort to pull it off.