Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence silences haters with head-turning padded practice

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, storylines surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars the first few days of training camp was that Trevor Lawrence was struggling. The former Clemson Tiger came under scrutiny with several rough outings. While he said he needed to get better, he didn't seem overly concerned, and neither did the coaching staff. A strong padded practice showed why.

Lawrence had one of his best practices on Day 6 of Jaguars training camp, which coincidentally was the first day they wore pads. Accounts vary a bit but Demetrius Harvey of Florida Times-Union had him going 16-of-17, completing 16 passes in a row.

On the other hand, Zach Goodall of USA TODAY Sports had Lawrence completing eight of nine passes with a touchdown. Moreover, Mac Jones also showed out, going 9-of-10 with one touchdown.

Early in training camp, Lawrence acknowledged that he needed to take better care of the football, having logged 21 turnovers last year. But other than that, he wasn't fazed by the offense's early struggles. He didn't minimize his mistakes but understood that a few practices weren't going to make or break him.

Offensive coordinator Press Taylor, for his part, didn't seem overly worried, pointing out that he was fine with the quarterback throwing interceptions as long as he shared his thought process.

Head coach Doug Pederson, on the other hand, knew that part of the struggles was due to how the coaching staff decided to scheme things. In prior years, the Jaguars started with first and second-down installs. This time, though, they began with the red zone.

Padded practices in the NFL are noteworthy because they're limited, with teams getting 16 spread through the offseason, preseason, and regular season. The Jags held their first of the year on Day 6 of training camp.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence reminds everyone why he's the guy

That Trevor Lawrence had a superb day of practice shouldn't be particularly surprising. After all, he's previously shown that he can play at an elite level. However, every mistake he makes is magnified because he signed a five-year deal extension worth $275 million in the offseason. While the Jacksonville Jaguars believe he's the long-term answer behind center, critics are baffled he got to set the market.

Just recently, former NFL running back LeSean McCoy made the case — unsuccessfully, I may argue — that Lawrence wasn't much better than former teammate and Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew, bringing up their traditional stats to back up his claim. What Shady failed to see is that Steezy Trev has consistently lifted his team.

While it's true that Lawrence struggled in the second half of 2023, that was mostly because he was dealing with a myriad of ailments and his supporting cast was less than stellar. The truth is that not many quarterbacks are going to thrive under those situations.

The bottom line is that even the best players are going to have rough days but they will put in the work to ensure it won't happen again. Trevor Lawrence did precisely that, leaving no doubt why the Jacksonville Jaguars believe he's their guy.

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