NFL insider expects third-year QB to have ‘massive’ season

Trevor Lawrence made huge improvements in his first year under head coach Doug Pederson, and the Jacksonville Jaguars star is confident he can take an even bigger leap this season.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on “SportsCenter” Sunday that Lawrence has high expectations for himself in 2023. The former Clemson star told Fowler he has bulked up and has been working tirelessly on his mechanics.

“Trevor Lawrence is eyeing a massive Year 3. He said he improved in several areas,” Fowler said, as transcribed by Bleacher Report’s Scott Polacek. “He gained about six-to-seven pounds of muscle this offseason, which he says is kind of hard to do for him because he’s a tall, skinny guy with a high metabolism but he ate basically all offseason. He worked on his footwork and mechanics and had a couple of tweaks there.

“Command of the offense; he believes he can make more checks at the line of scrimmage, get the Jaguars in the right play. And then he also told me, ‘Look, I want to stay aggressive as a passer, but I have to pick my spots. I’m learning that more and more. If we’re 1st-and-goal at the five-yard line, I don’t need to throw an aggressive pass in between two defenders. I need to play smarter.’”

Lawrence threw for 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season. He added 291 rushing yards and five scores on the ground. He looked much more comfortable than in his disastrous rookie season under Urban Meyer when Lawrence had 12 touchdowns compared to 17 picks.

We already know that Lawrence is keeping receipts and trying to prove the doubters wrong. If he does take a big Year 3 leap, the Jaguars will be in a great position to win the mediocre AFC South again.