JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Learning his third offense in five seasons, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence already has found things to like about what coach Liam Coen brought from Tampa Bay to Jacksonville.
“It has a lot of answers,” Lawrence said Monday following the team’s first of 10 organized team activities. “It’s great. It puts a lot on the players. You have to know your stuff, but it gives you all the answers.
“You don’t feel like you’re stuck in a play that’s not set up for success. It gives us a lot of answers, and we change the presentation a lot, make a lot of things look the same. … It’s definitely unlike any system that I’ve learned before.”
Lawrence, the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, started his NFL career under coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Lawrence transitioned to Doug Pederson and Press Taylor the following year, but he seemingly regressed amid injuries and inconsistency by his third year in the system.
It’s been a surprising slide for a player once considered a generational talent. Lawrence is 22-38 in 60 starts with the Jaguars, throwing for 13,815 yards with 69 touchdowns and 68 turnovers.
Now Lawrence is getting another makeover, hoping this one will lead to more success and long-term stability.
“I really like the people we have here now,” Lawrence said. “I love the system. I love the staff, the players that we brought in along with the guys that were already here. I feel very confident in where we’re going and the trajectory we’re heading.
“Can’t change the past, of course. I would’ve loved to have a little more success up until this point. But the reality is this is where we’re at, and I love where we’re at. I got a lot of confidence in it.”
Coen, general manager James Gladstone and executive vice president Tony Boselli have made it clear that their main priority is to build around Lawrence, who signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension last summer.
The franchise’s newest brain trust traded up three spots to draft two-way college starter and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter with the second overall pick. Hunter has stood out to most everyone, including Lawrence, watching the team’s offseason workouts.
“He’s got a lot of juice; he can run all day,” Lawrence said. “A lot of energy. I love it. Good energy. Always dapping guys up. Just bringing juice every day and, like I said, high motor, can just go. “It’s like a kid just runs around all day. He doesn’t get tired. Can’t have enough of that.
“And then as far as just talent … ball skills, running after the catch. He’s very explosive. Didn’t realize how explosive he was in and out of cuts. He’s impressive to watch. It’s only going to keep getting better and better.”
The Jaguars are counting on Hunter, Pro Bowl receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and speedster Dyami Brown to provide Lawrence with more options and upgrades in an offense that averaged 17.9 points a game in 2024. They also revamped Lawrence’s tight end, running back and offensive line rooms.
“We’re not even close,” Coen said. “We’re working toward playing in September, obviously. So at this point it is strictly how much can we actually learn from every day. We’re not evaluating maybe some of the things that you would normally evaluate in a game or in a season.”
Lawrence threw two interceptions during a turnover-plagued practice Monday. It was far from the start to OTAs he wanted but hardly anything worth worrying about considering it was his first day in a new system and facing a different scheme.
“(This is) the time of year where you work that stuff out,” Lawrence said. “Obviously you never want have interceptions. You don’t want to have balls on the ground. You want to be clean. But, on the other hand, it’s stuff you want to see so you can fix it now and not carry that over later on. So we’ll fix that stuff and we’ll get cleaned up.”
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