Trevor Lawrence sets standard, shows new command of Jaguars offense

Trevor Lawrence has taken full command of the Jacksonville Jaguars offense.

After a year of learning a new system under head coach Liam Coen and his staff, the sixth-year quarterback has taken ownership, mastering the team's scheme and making it his own. Player-led ownership of the team and standards driven by the team's leaders have been crucial.

Lawrence is at the forefront of that change as one of the team's captains — something he's earned, as evidenced by the unanimous approval of the team's offense. But, it's something Coen made sure to mention ahead of Week 1, a difference in a year of leading Jacksonville.

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"I think the standard of performance in the locker room has

elevated to where maybe I don't always have to say, ‘Hey guys, that's not the standard. This is not how we operate. This is not what we want it to look like.’ I think they know more now in terms of the way that looks," Coen explained last week.

Lawrence echoed Coen's sentiments, noting the importance of holding each other as teammates accountable.

"That's been noticeable and we got to continue to do that, especially in the season, because it can't just be on the coaches to push that every day. It's got to be a player-led, player-driven thing," Lawrence said last week.

In Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, Lawrence and the Jaguars played up to their standard. Lawrence completed 78.3% of his passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Jacksonville won 34-10, and it wasn't close.

Heading into Week 2 on the road against the Denver Broncos, the Jaguars will have to adjust to the challenge of playing in a hostile environment. Last year, the team snapped Denver's 11-game win streak with a 34-20 convincing win near the end of the season.

Part of what gives Jacksonville the edge, though, is Lawrence's calm demeanor, and his quickly-developed chemistry with his various pass-catchers.

What Trevor Lawrence's TD to Josh Cameron tells us

Lawrence didn't think much of it, but the rest of the NFL world celebrated his tight-rope touchdown toss to rookie receiver Josh Cameron in the back of the end zone against Cleveland.

Lawrence fit the ball between four Browns defenders, placing it in a spot where only Cameron could haul it in.

"When I saw the safety was kind of shaded over, I could definitely tell it was coming," Cameron said in the Jaguars' locker room this week.

The Jaguars repped the play multiple times throughout the week showing the rookie various looks. While Cameron admitted it was a tough pass to haul in, he said his work throughout the weeks helped him make the play.

"I guess I kind of practice it a little bit whenever I do jugs, kind of after practice, just that body presence," Cameron explained. "I use a little dummy kind of bag, just practicing that body presence to where I didn't really feel it to be honest, and it's just kind of natural at that point."

Lawrence said the catch was just as, if not more, impressive as the throw.

“Just trusting him to go make a play. Josh is a big, physical receiver and guy that I know is going to work and get an edge on the DB. And then if you just put it near him, I feel pretty confident he's going to come down with it," Lawrence said during the week leading up to the team's travel to Denver.

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Though the catch was natural, according to Cameron, what isn't necessarily natural is a veteran quarterback trusting a rookie receiver in Week 1 of the regular season to come down with arguably the toughest catch of the day.

While the standard has been set, in part by Lawrence, he possesses another trait not many do.

It didn't take long for WR Jakobi Meyers to make an impact after being traded to the team in the middle of last season. In his first game with the team, Meyers caught all three of his targets for 41 yards.

Meyers finished the season with 42 catches for 483 yards and three scores, seeing almost no drop off in production from his time with the Raiders.

Though part Meyers' success is thanks to his work ethic, Lawrence's ability to quickly adapt to a new receiver's tendencies is unique.

"It's probably his approach and his understanding of the details of each play or each concept and the way guys run certain routes," Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski explained, noting, for example, that Parker Washington may run an out route a bit differently than how Meyers would.

"I think Trevor [Lawrence] does an excellent job of understanding how that changes maybe his timing or the way that's going to look or the response that it'll elicit from the defense, and that's not always something that's easy for guys to pick up or easy for guys to even understand."

Lawrence's command of the offense and standards set by the team has skyrocketed since Coen and his staff arrived.

"For him to have enough master of the offense to understand what the concepts are and what the concepts are trying to attack, but then how those will be differentiated based on how we're lined up or who's running those concepts, shows a really strong understanding of the offense," Udinski noted.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Demetrius82 or on BlueskyatDemetrius.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Trevor Lawrence sets standard, shows new command of Jaguars offense