Jaguars HC Doug Pederson has effusive comments about Trevor Lawrence's new deal

Some analysts believed the Jacksonville Jaguars should've waited before they paid Trevor Lawrence. However, they knew he was their guy, so they went ahead and gave him an extension that makes him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Head coach Doug Pederson recently said that there was no doubt in their mind their franchise quarterback.

Pederson made an appearance on the NFL Network and said that he's glad Lawrence got paid, noting that the Jaguars are fully confident in the fourth-year quarterback.

"The decision was easy," Pederson said when asked if locking up Lawrence was difficult. "We all feel in the building that he's our guy. He's the face of the franchise. He was drafted three years ago, the first round pick to be that guy. And we have all the confidence in the world, and we're just excited and thrilled for he and his family to get this contract behind him, as we head into this season and to 24 and just continue to build on the last two years."

"­[It] wasn't a perfect finish to last season, there were some injuries. Trevor's one of those guys that we got to continue to keep healthy. But he's on the right path, and we continue to work. We built the pieces around him, get our run game going a little bit, play good defense, and see what happens," Pederson said.

The first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence got the general talent label coming out of college. However, he struggled as a rookie, throwing 17 interceptions and just 12 touchdowns. In his defense, Urban Meyer was the Jaguars head coach at the time and had no idea of what he was doing. Also stunting the quarterback's growth was the lack of talent around him.

Once Jacksonville hired Doug Pederson as the head coach and made upgrades to his supporting cast, Lawrence had a noticeable improvement. By the end of 2022, he was playing at an elite level.

Heading into 2023, Lawrence was seen as a top-10 quarterback and a dark horse MVP candidate. He was expected to take the next step in his development and certainly made strides, especially early in the season. But once he got hurt and the rest of the team suffered injuries, he struggled and the Jags went 1-6 to finish the year.

Lawrence is now healthy and is looking to bounce back. The team's brass once again made reinforcements to his supporting cast, so he's most certainly in a position to help the Jacksonville Jaguars reclaim their place as the top team in the AFC South.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence's extension won't affect his play in 2024

Some teams feel buyer's remorse after paying a quarterback. Just last year, the New York Giants had regrets a few months after giving Daniel Jones a new deal. Another such case was when the Jacksonville Jaguars gave Nick Foles a four-year deal worth $88 million back in 2019. A handful of games into the season, they realized they had made a massive mistake. That won't happen with Lawrence.

Throughout his career, the former Clemson Tiger has made the kind of plays that made him earn the generational talent moniker. He now needs to do it on a consistent basis, but there's no doubt he's progressively gotten better since the Jags drafted him first overall. In fact, the slight regression he experienced in 2023 was mostly due to factors outside his control.

Can Lawrence play better? absolutely. For one, he must cut down on the fumbles, but that's one area he's been working on. Furthermore, he needs to take ownership of the team and put it on his shoulders.

Either way, the Jacksonville Jaguars know Trevor Lawrence is a franchise quarterback and they're excited about the things he can accomplish leading the way.

More Jaguars analysis here: