After Thursday’s practice, QB Trevor Lawrence highlighted where he has grown the most in the Jaguars’ new-look offense.
With offseason programs now completed for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where has quarterback Trevor Lawrence seen the most growth in his game as he learns Liam Coen’s system?
“Like I’ve said, I’ve changed some of my footwork, so I feel a lot more comfortable with that,” Lawrence said after Thursday’s practice. “Just some subtle changes. I think my footwork, my eyes, just where I’m starting, using my eyes as a weapon, manipulating the defense.
“I thought there was some great stuff on tape throughout the spring of me being able to do that, and the ways I wanted to. So that was a big step.”
As Lawrence mentions, the changes to his footwork were subtle. Earlier this offseason, Coen said it was just going to be some “tweaking.” In part, Lawrence said back in April that he’s viewed his footwork as  “a little bit of a weakness” in his career.
However, in addition to that, the footwork component is vital when it comes to operating within Coen’s offense, specifically allowing the quarterback to operate within the timing and rhythm of the play as he goes through his reads.
As Lawrence described previously, the rhythm of his footwork in Coen’s scheme is tied to where he is in his progressions. So if the footwork is off, the timing of the entire play and where the ball is supposed to go can be thrown off as well.
One aspect of this new-look offense that Lawrence really likes is that it gives him a lot of the answers to what the defense is doing. But with that, as he also said, it puts a lot on the players as well. With that can come a steep learning curve as the playbook is being implemented, but over the last month, Lawrence’s comfort in that regard has grown as he’s gotten more reps.
“Just overall, being comfortable with the system,” Lawrence added. “Not thinking as much. When you hear a play call, it’s not like I’m straining to think about what I’m doing. When you first get into the system, you’re kind of doing that, but towards the end it felt a lot more second nature and felt like I could go and play and communicate and move fast.”
As Coen mentioned early on in OTAs, the offense is still in the “learning phase” as the installs are being put in, so the focus has been on establishing and playing with the proper fundamentals, technique, and having sound communication.
But along with Lawrence, as the offense as a whole has gotten more reps and practices under their belts, the progress was noticeable, especially on the final day of minicamp, with the offense finishing on a high note.