JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It has all slowed down for Trevor Lawrence.
That’s the biggest product of having been in the same offensive system for two offseasons now. Instead of having to think and analyze things in real time, Lawrence knows Liam Coen’s scheme in detail now. That means a far “calmer” Lawrence running the offense.
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The Jaguars are winding down their offseason program, with organized team activities slated to end on Wednesday. After that, players will scatter until returning for training camp in late July.
Lawrence took a major step forward under Coen and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski last year, leading the Jaguars to the AFC South title and a 13-4 record. Lawrence reached the 4,000-yard passing mark for the third time and was responsible for 38 total touchdowns (29 passing, 9 rushing). He was also a finalist for the MVP award.
“Yeah, it’s just a lot calmer, a lot more confident in my progressions and what I know about the system and stepping out so when I get on the grass it’s a lot less thinking,” Lawrence said.
“I think that’s the biggest thing is I can react, play faster, can work on some different things of my game because the focus isn’t as much on what to do and what’s the play call and what are all the adjustments, I know all that stuff and still study that and work on it because it’s easy to forget little details.”
OTAs coverage
Lawrence was learning the third offensive system of his NFL career last season, as well as rehabbing from surgery on his shoulder. This year, he’s healthy and has a far better grasp of what Coen and Udinski want to do. Coen said that Lawrence “can kind of just go play.”
“Look, we’re still coaching it, absolutely, but he’s got such a grasp for it that you’re hopeful that it allows the him to just go be him and go be the best version of himself as we saw so much towards the back half of the last year and taking growth from that,” Coen said. “We should only be taking a lot of growth from that time.”
Notebook
- The Jaguars welcomed quite a few notable names to practice on Monday. The McCourty twins, Devin and Jason, former receiver A.J. Green and former Jaguars star running back Maurice Jones-Drew were all out at OTAs. Coen said that ex-Jags stars Fred Taylor and Marcedes Lewis were planning to come in later this week. “… And really to get our guys around players that did it at a high level whether it was here or elsewhere, man, if they can take any nugget from them over the next three days, we got better,” Coen said.
- Long list of players not at practice: Jakobi Meyers, Chris Rodriguez, Jalen McCloud, Ameer Abdullah, Zach Durfee, Quinton Bohanna, Robert Hainsey, Anton Harrison, Hunter Long, Brenton Strange, and Nate Boerkircher.
- QB rotation shake-up? Could be something, could be nothing. Last week of OTAs, but Carter Bradley getting a few extra reps. Bradley, a Providence School graduate, spent most of last season on the Jaguars practice squad.
- Bhayshul Tuten said he has always taken pride in him being hard to tackle. He says he played a lot of streetball as a kid, and you know you never want to get tackled out there.
- Parker Washington wrapping things up with a nice day. Washington caught a touchdown and made a nice diving catch. Washington has been as involved as anyone in the Jags offense. He will play a big role for the Jags this year.
- Not something that we have had to say before this offseason, but all day there were drops, drops, and more drops. Multiple receivers let the ball go off and through their hands. In a vacuum, one day is nothing to worry about, especially since the group has been sure-handed almost every other day, but the Jags did lead the league in drops last year, so it is at least a point worth watching.
- Maybe no player has grown more over the last year than Antonio Johnson. He is a leader in that safety room. His success on the field during last season was a result of the work he did behind closed doors. Now, he goes into a contract season with a chance to play a huge role on the Jaguars’ defense.
- Caleb Ransaw is a football junkie. He may have missed time on the field last season, but he didn’t miss the time in the meeting rooms. Ransaw impressed the staff with how locked in he was last season. Now nothing can make up for missed reps on the grass, but he knows where to be when he is on the field.
- Don’t sleep on Branson Combs. He converted from WR to LB in college, so he really hasn’t been at the position for very long. That isn’t a normal type of position switch, but that athleticism shows up when he is on the field.
- Foyesade Oluokun is still underrated. The impact Oluokun has on the Jaguars’ defense on the grass and off the field is way more valuable than he gets credit for.
- The running back battle is wide open. Chris Rodriguez’s superpower is being efficient. Will that be enough to earn him the bell cow back role? That is a question that can’t get answered until he gets on the field. The pads will be the time for these guys to separate themselves. The running back group is extremely physical. J’Mari Taylor is a guy worth watching to see if his running style shows up when things get cranked up.