Doug Pederson's strong endorsement of Trevor Lawrence will get Jaguars fans hyped

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is expected to bounce back from an underwhelming 2023. The Jacksonville Jaguars won't find out if he will until the regular season, but at least they know that his leadership has grown immensely.

Head coach Doug Pederson told the local media on the second week of Organized Team Activities that Lawrence has grown as a leader, noting that there's a day and night difference since he became the head coach.

"Physically, we gotta gotta keep him healthy. But mentally, the number one, the way he leads this football team. He's becoming the vocal leader on the field, in meetings. He's engaging," Doug Pederson said about Lawrence. "We got him three years ago. You're just learning our system and kind of quiet, trying to go through the motions for us, trying to adapt to us."

Pederson continued, "Now he's engaged. Now he's given us ideas. Now he's given us suggestions and ideas and becoming another coach, a set of eyes on the field. That's his growth. That's just his development as a quarterback. Not changing a lot, schematically. Repetition goes a long way in utilizing that repetition to benefit your football team."

"And that's where that's where Trevor has taken the next step for now. It's got to translate on the field right and into wins and losses and touchdowns versus INTs. And stuff like that. But that's where I've seen the biggest growth in the few years we've been together."

Lawrence played like a top-10 quarterback to end 2022. However, he wasn't able to build off of his success and took a step back last season. While he still played well, he also made a handful of mistakes that hurt the team. In his defense, he barely had any time to throw behind a porous offensive line, and injuries exposed the lack of depth at several position groups, including wide receiver.

Without getting much help, Lawrence tried to do too much, sometimes with less-than-ideal results. In particular, he wasn't careful with the football, fumbling 12 times and losing seven of them. Earlier in the offseason, head coach Doug Pederson said he would like the see the star quarterback work on that. Here's Pederson full exchange with the local media.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence's leadership should carry over onto the field

The worst thing that could've happened to Trevor Lawrence's development was getting Urban Meyer as his head coach in his rookie season. Under Meyer, Lawrence had to navigate through a toxic environment while trying to make the adjustment to the NFL. A tall task for most players, even more so for one who was dealing with the pressure of being the first overall pick in 2021.

Fortunately, Lawrence came out of the Urban Meyer debacle relatively scattered, flourishing on and off the field. Head coach Doug Pederson's latest comments show the fourth-year quarterback has the leadership part sorted out and must now work on being the best possible player he can be on the football field. He should have no trouble pulling it off.

As noted before, some of Lawrence's regression had to do with factors outside his grasp, such as the talent around him. The team's brass took note and made as much as he could to upgrade his supporting cast in the offseason. Add the fact that he's healthy after suffering a myriad of ailments in the second half of the season, and the former Clemson Tiger is in prime position to rebound in 2024.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are counting on Trevor Lawrence to lead the way in 2024. If he does, they should have no trouble seizing the AFC South.

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