Jaguars have full confidence in Trevor Lawrence, who's in control of the offense

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had his rookie season ruined by Urban Meyer but he showed big improvement under head coach Doug Pederson last year. Heading into the 2023 season, the Jags have empowered Lawrence, giving him the keys to the offense

Wide receiver Christian Kirk met with the local media Monday and talked about the growth Lawrence has had, noting that he's mastered the offense.

"The keys are his, we have the saying, Trevor can get to anything at any time," Kirk said. "And it's basically his toolbox of all the tools that he's been equipped with within the offense. And when we go out there, if he sees something on the fly or the defense comes out in something that maybe we weren't expecting, he knows where to go and what to get to to get us into a better play. They trust him to be able to do that."

"And that's a thing that we did really well, especially towards the end of the year, is just being able to read and react and him thinking on his toes, but also knowing what we're good at and being able to identify those mismatches so it does a really good job and communicates with us skill players, especially, where his mind is going into weekly of what he can get to."

Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft, had a steep learning curve in his rookie season. The fact that Meyer didn't agree with his own staff on how to best develop him didn't help matters. Once Doug Pederson took over, he had to start over with the young passer. Besides working on his overall mechanics he taught him how to be a better leader off and on the field.

The work paid off and Lawrence went on to have a fruitful sophomore season, completing 66.27 percent of his passes for 4,113 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Heading into the 2023 season, the Jaguars expected Lawrence to make yet another leap. Just recently, Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke had high praise of the third-year quarterback, noting that he's lived up to expectations and that the sky is the limit for him.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence has the chance to accomplish big things in 2023

No process is linear and Trevor Lawrence's development happened overnight. Even early in the 2022 season, he still made mistakes that cost the Jaguars a few wins. Vowing not to let his team down again, he went on to play like a top-10 quarterback in the second half, engineering comeback wins against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Baltimore Ravens.

Currently, most analysts and talking heads discuss Trevor Lawrence as one of the best quarterbacks in the league but his precise place in the top 10 varies depending on whom you ask. In 2023, he'll provide clarity by either taking the next step or failing to take it. Signs point toward the former scenario and if he does take his game to new heights, the Jaguars' offense will be hard to stop. Similarly, he could be in MVP talks early on if he and Jacksonville get off to a hot start.

Trevor Lawrence has been everything the Jaguars expected when they drafted him. Not surprisingly, they're giving him reins to the offense, and he'll repay the team's trust by joining the upper-echelon of quarterbacks and racking up wins this upcoming season.

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