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Trevor Lawrence’s rookie season did not go very well. Working with a subpar supporting cast and under a head coach who quickly became a laughingstock, Lawrence completed only 59.6% of his passes at an average of just 6.0 yards per attempt, while throwing 12 touchdown passes against a league-high 17 interceptions.
Coming into Year 2 of his career, the Jags have upgraded his offensive line and receiving corps, and have given him a head coach who is at least a professional and will do a far better job of putting him in position to succeed. According to general manager Trent Baalke, Lawrence is already showing improvement in his second offseason.
“He’s just more confident,” Baalke said on the O-Zone Podcast, according to Jaguar Report. “He’s carrying himself with more confidence. He’s delivering the ball quicker. He’s continuing to do that. I’ve seen that through the course of the offseason, getting the ball out of his hands, being more decisive.”
Baalke also praised Lawrence for his leadership and how he handled everything that went on around the team last season.
“He’s an old soul. He’s a leader, you know, and he does it in his own way, like any good leader does,” Baalke said. “He’s got his own style. But the maturity showed last year was very impressive and he’s continued to build on that as we work through this offseason.”
Being able to handle the circus around the Jaguars in the way he did, at least publicly and in the locker room, was impressive. It would, of course, have been better if he did not have to do that at all. It’s possible the Jaguars set their franchise quarterback’s development back with their coaching choice, and will now have to make up for lost time in order to take advantage of the window where he is on his rookie deal.