Jaguars coach Doug Pederson believes 'real deal' Trevor Lawrence has exceeded NFL expectations

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson continues to gush about Trevor Lawrence, his young quarterback. The one-time No. 1 pick of the NFL Draft is on track to exceed expectations.

“He’s the real deal,” Pederson said of Trevor Lawrence during an interview with Sky Sports. “He’s a sponge on the practice field, he’s a great communicator with us as a staff, great leader. (And) he’s the guy we all anticipated he was, and he is. We’re excited for that. He’s still young. He’s got a lot of ball ahead of him.”

The former Clemson star’s game took a significant leap from his rookie season to year two. Just look at his statistics. As a rookie he threw 12 touchdown passes against 17 interceptions. Yes, he suffered a ton of football growing pains. Then in year two, the stats turned around, to 25 touchdowns to eight picks. And as the Jaguars reeled off wins to earn a playoff spot late in the season, Lawrence’s stats also became a lot cleaner. Over the last nine games, he tossed 15 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

The Jags won their first AFC South division title since 2017. The most important game Trevor Lawrence played was in the first-round of the playoffs. He suffered through a hideous first half, with four interceptions. That gave him a share of some NFL notorierty. Only two other quarterbacks in NFL history had thrown four picks in the first half of a playoff game. So he put his name alongside Detroit’s Gary Danielson and Denver’s Craig Morton. Then he rallied the Jags to the third biggest comeback in playoff history.

Pederson met with the media, Thursday, to give his thoughts on training camp, the 53-man roster and the season opener against the Colts. Of course, reporters asked about Lawrence.

Pederson said that Lawrence has taken another big leap to start year three. It’s like “night and day,” Pederson said.

“I’ve seen that growth, that maturity, in a young player,” Pederson said. “He’s so much further along, he’s understanding the game, how to play the position the right way. (Quarterbacks coach) Mike McCoy does a great job of coaching that into him and all the quarterbacks. To me, it’s just that confidence, it’s that leadership ability that he possesses and that’s encouraging.”

The AFC is top heavy with elite quarterbacks. And all of them, save for Aaron Rodgers, are young. But Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson receive most of the attention. Justin Herbert even became the highest-paid quarterback in the game. It’s almost like Trevor Lawrence is an after thought. For now.

“He’s continuing to grow, continuing to get better and he’s also one of the quarterbacks that’s been in the conversation for one of the top in the AFC, as he should be,” Pederson said. “But he knows he’s got to put in the hard work, and he’s got a great group of guys around him to help support that.”