Earlier this month, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson praised quarterback Trevor Lawrence by saying, “The confidence level with him is extremely high, as it should be.”
Lawrence is coming off a season in which he threw for 4,113 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions, leading the Jaguars to a 9-8 record and a division title. As he gets ready to start his third season, he said on Wednesday that “a lot of things” are factoring into his high confidence.
“[S]econd year in the offense, just that consistency, the communication between myself and coach Pederson and [offensive coordinator] Press [Taylor] and the whole offensive staff,” Lawrence said in his press conference. “I think we have a really clear vision of what we want and what our objectives are. I think we have a better idea, too, of what we’re good at and offensively what we want to try to do. We’re in a good spot there, and just the rapport with the guys offensively. Whether it’s receivers, tight ends, O-line, running backs, all those guys.
“We’re just a close group and I think with that, that gives everybody confidence. You can count on the guy next to you and the guys have played well, performed really well. Even our depth throughout the preseason has looked great. It’s just encouraging for everybody, everybody feels like they can go play free. I like where we’re at right now.”
Lawrence and Jacksonville’s offensive starters are set to get some playing time in the club’s preseason finale against Miami on Saturday night. Lawrence acknowledged that there is a balance in trying to get ready for Week One while also making sure no one gets injured, calling it “kind of a tough situation.”
“[Y]ou want to keep everybody healthy but then again, you want to get reps and you want to get in a rhythm,” Lawrence said. “Then, two drives in, that’s when you kind of start to get a rhythm and then you come out. So it’s like, what’s the best thing? It’s a fine line.
“I think our coaches have done a great job of handling that. It’ll be good to get a little bit more work this week and however much that ends up being, just go play well. I think that’s the biggest thing for us — let’s be clean, let’s execute, take advantage of all the possessions we get offensively, and just go through our plan to execute. I think that’s the main focus, you want to feel good about that. Especially the last one going into the regular season, let’s end on a good note and get ready for the season.”
If Lawrence can perform well against coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense this weekend, it will be one more reason to be confident heading into Jacksonville’s season opener against Indianapolis.