Jaguars HC Doug Pederson tells Pat McAfee QB Trevor Lawrence is the real deal

One of the many reasons Doug Pederson became the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars was the prospect of working with Trevor Lawrence. Together, Pederson and Lawrence have helped the Jags become one of the top teams in the NFL after years of irrelevance. Just recently, the coach affectionately known as Doug P. made an appearance on the Pat McAfee show and talked about all the qualities that make Lawrence a great quarterback.

"He's the real deal, and the thing is he's continuing to get better," Pederson told Pat McAfee. "And each game, he takes another step closer to the direction that we want to go in his progression as a quarterback and being one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. He's a sponge and wants to learn, he wants to get better."

"He wants to get coached, which sometimes can be rare in this day and age, but he definitely wants to be pushed hard and challenged. He's really opened up in his second year with us, as a staff and in our system. A great leader, I'll tell you this too, going out and getting guys like Zay Jones and Christian Kirk, Evan Engram a year ago. You go get Calvin Ridley this year, you put the pieces around him. He's done a great job of getting all those guys involved," Pederson said.

Lawrence was the first overall pick in the 2021 draft. Despite being dubbed the best quarterback prospect to come out of the collegiate ranks since Andrew Luck, he struggled as a rookie. Then again, even a vested veteran behind center would've most likely faltered under Meyer.

Realizing Meyer was holding Lawrence and other players back, they gave the boot less than a year after hiring him. To replace him, they brought in Pederson, who took the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl and had a history of getting the most out of his quarterbacks.

To nobody's surprise, Lawrence has finally become the franchise player Jacksonville expected them when they drafted him first overall in 2021. As Pederson noted, he's a sponge, striving to consistently better. He made a huge leap in Year 2 and he's currently playing at a high level. Here's some of the exchange between Doug Pederson and Pat McAfee.

As Pro Football Focus points out Steezy Trev is 15-of-29 with five touchdowns and no interceptions on throws of 20+ yards this season. Moreover, his 98.3 passing grade is first in the league and has completed 13 big-time throws, passes thrown into tight windows that usually lead to big gains.

Trevor Lawrence is a big reason the Jacksonville Jaguars are 6-2 in 2023

The Jaguars offense currently ranks 10th in points scored and 13 in total yards in the NFL even though they've missed several opportunities throughout the year. The good news is that most of the issues that have held them back are fixable. Earlier in the season, they dealt with drops and inefficient blocking. However, they worked on both areas and neither is currently an issue.

Trevor Lawrence, for his part, has rarely ever made mistakes this season. He's mostly made good decisions and is coming off one of the best games in his young career, interception notwithstanding. Even though he won't be mentioned in the same breath as the Patrick Mahomeses or Joe Burrows of the world, there's no doubt he's quickly ascending into top-tier status. And Doug Pederson's tutelage has made all the difference in the world.

The bottom line is that the Jacksonville Jaguars have one of the best quarterback-head coach tandem in the league right now. With Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence in the fold, they should enjoy sustained success in the foreseeable future.

Here are other recent Jaguars stories you may also like: