Trevor Lawrence was selected first overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft with the expectation that he would help the team become a perennial contender.
In two of his three NFL seasons, the Jags have shown competitiveness, to his credit; but, he is not quite at the same level as some of his colleagues, including other former top pick Joe Burrow.
While things undoubtedly improved under Doug Pederson’s leadership, we witnessed the appalling outcomes under Urban Meyer’s coaching. Still, everyone anticipated that the former Clemson standout would make significant progress in his third season.
That was not the case. What then went wrong? What has to be addressed by Lawrence during the off-season? In front of the media, his head coach recently responded to such query.
Doug Pederson says turnovers continue holding Trevor Lawrence back most
Trevor Lawrence led the NFL in interceptions thrown as a rookie with 17, but Peyton Manning demonstrated that this shouldn’t be a problem—at least not for a rookie. After all, while Lawrence started 17 games, the Hall of Fame quarterback still holds the rookie record for interceptions thrown. He also played 16 games. Nevertheless, Manning’s 28 selections is a far cry from Lawrence’s meager 17.
Then, in his second season, Lawrence only threw eight interceptions while leading the Jaguars to the postseason. However, the turnover problems reappeared in 2023, as Lawrence tied the NFL record with seven fumble losses and threw 14 interceptions in 16 games.
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The goal is to protect the football, and Lawrence hasn’t shown that he can prevail in the turnover battle on a regular basis. Doug Pederson pointed to Lawrence’s turnover issue earlier this week as the main area of improvement his rookie quarterback still needs to address to rank among the best in the game today.
It’s the most important thing for him to concentrate on going forward. This number of turnovers is just not sustainable. The location and method of turning the ball over are irrelevant. The football needs to be protected. That is the primary concern. We must ensure that the quarterback, who handles the ball on every snap, places a strong focus on ball care.
The Jaguars appeared to be on the verge of rising to the top of the NFL a year ago, but in 2023 they underperformed. They did, however, win the same number of games, indicating that they are not far from returning to the postseason; nevertheless, as Coach Pederson pointed out, they still need to figure out how to cut down on the number of turnovers they make.
Lawrence will have plenty of time to improve his game with a whole summer to refocus, and the Jaguars finishing just short of a postseason trip should be enough to inspire them to take advantage of their rivals the following year.
