Jaguars look to build right the second time around franchise Trevor Lawrence

Lawrence took his lumps in year one, but he now has a coach with NFL experience and track record with QBs. (Photo: Stephen Lew / USATODAY)

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Sat Feb 05 13:25:12 GMT-04:00 2022

New Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson knows he has his QB in place with former Clemson standout and 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, and that was a factor when Pederson was considering his next stop in the NFL.

"That’s something that I obviously looked at with the teams that were searching for in head coaches is, ‘Who is the quarterback? And is that person in place?’ And here it is," Pederson told the media at his introductory news conference on Saturday. "I truly believe that. As I’ve done my research on Trevor and talked to people – and even talked to coaches who have played against him this past year – (they) say nothing but great things and kind of ‘the sky’s the limit.’

"It is unfortunate that things didn’t necessarily go smoothly this past year, but that’s behind us now and I’m excited to come in here and roll up my sleeves and go to work and create a system that enhances his skillset. And be successful. I pride myself in that."

Pederson's first and last stop as a head coach was with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-20, which brought a Super Bowl win in year two and a firing after a 22-25 run over the next three seasons.

Carson Wentz went No. 2 overall to the Eagles in the 2016 NFL draft and he ranked as high as No. 1 in ESPN's QBR metric (2017) and as low as 28th (2020) under Pederson.

"We did it at my former place with Carson Wentz early in his career and really feel like that’s a strength that I can help and be a part of that," Pederson said. "It’s exciting to not only be a part of this organization – met him (Lawrence) downstairs today for the first time – just a humble kid that is also ready to get things going and he wants to win as well."

Lawrence ranked 28th in QBR through a 3-14 Jaguars regular-season campaign, with 3,641 passing yards, a 59.6 completion rate and 12 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. The Jaguars haven't had a winning season since 2017, and Pederson knows he has to go to work.

"I've been able to watch him not only on TV but look at him on tape and watch him and kinda know who he is and a little bit about him – the more now that I get to come in and study him and study the game, and obviously, listen, he’s one player on this team – he’s a good player, but also watching the entire team...our job moving forward is to put more good pieces around him. I’m excited from that standpoint," Pederson said.

Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke expressed some caution in expecting a quick turnaround, but he also pointed to another quick rise within the AFC.

"In the situation we’re in, I don’t think it is an overnight fix," Baalke said Saturday. "We’re going to go through this process and we’re in a very good situation with a franchise quarterback in place, we’ve got a lot of ammunition with 12 draft picks this year – eight stored up for next year and the (salary) cap space that I believe is the second-most in the league as we sit here today, so there’s going to be some changes, and this league -- if you look at what (Super Bowl-bound) Cincinnati did, you can make these changes fairly quickly."