Jaguars offense: Trevor Lawrence leads charge for 2025 AFC South Champs

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made it to the regular season.

The team is preparing for their home and season opener on Sept. 13 against the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Stadium. They trimmed their roster to 53, putting together a group of players that is set to try to make the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in more than two decades.

The Jaguars had an intense training camp slate that featured four joint practice sessions with three different teams. The goal was to compete in controlled environments while assessing themselves against opponents.

Jaguars initial 53-man roster: Who made the team after training camp?

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and several other starters didn’t see any action in Jacksonville’s preseason games. Head

coach Liam Coen and his staff deemed that the competition in the joint practices was close enough to game reps.

Will that decision cause the team to have a slow start out of the gates? Or will the players be refreshed after not adding unnecessary mileage on their bodies in games that largely don’t matter?

Time will tell.

What is the biggest question facing the Jaguars’ offense

The biggest question facing Jacksonville’s offense will be, "can they adequately replace Travis Etienne?"

The veteran running back left in free agency, signing with the New Orleans Saints where he’s projected to have a large role in their offense.

Jacksonville signed Chris Rodriguez as a free agent because of his familiarity with Coen’s system from their time together as coach and player at the University of Kentucky. The rest of the running back room consists of second-year backs Bhayshul Tuten, who is expected to split reps with Rodriguez, LeQuint Allen and veteran Ameer Abdullah.

“We're going to have to be a little bit more by committee,” Coen said of replacing Etienne. “Those guys are going to have to play their part but not come in to try to be anybody else but themselves.”

Every Bhayshul Tuten TD from last year…

He’s so nice. pic.twitter.com/GjiA2ajx2f

— Joe Orrico (@JoeOrrico) August 31, 2026

For Tuten and Rodriguez, they’re the perfect balance of speed and power. Tuten ripped several long runs in training camp as he sped to the second level and beyond. He took over lead-back responsibilities since Rodriguez missed the entire offseason program as he recovered from a foot injury. He was a limited participant when training camp started. Now, fully healthy, he’ll be crucial to Coen’s offense and how they want to run the football.

Coen said Rodriguez’s value wouldn’t be seen until the team played a real game. Even as pads went on in camp, Coen was proven correct.

Rodriguez plowed through second-year safety Caleb Ransaw on the first day of pads, doing so without really dropping his shoulder or lunging toward the defender. It became clear that he’s a player who won’t be brought down easily, churning out extra yardage after initial contact.

Allen is the team’s best pass blocking back and will see more opportunities to catch passes out of the backfield now that Etienne has departed. Abdullah is the elder-most player in the room and will have the experience to help wherever he’s needed.

Despite having a quarterback that received MVP votes and a versatile group of pass catchers, the Jaguars are committed to running the football. Coen’s appreciation for the run game came from playing in the wishbone offense when he was younger. It’s the system his dad used and he has carried over a lot of the same schemes to implement into his own playcalling.

“This is a throwing league, right? You have to be able to throw the football, protect the quarterback and finish in the red zone in two-minute throwing the football,” Coen said. “But I know that as a quarterback, it's nice to turn around and say, like, ‘Whew, give me a beat here and let somebody else do something here.’ I think it's always been instilled in me from a young age.”

Something to note is the Jaguars’ defense ranked at the top of the league in run defense in 2025. They are an elite group of run stoppers and that task is sometimes even easier when dealing with intersquad practices that aren’t as competitive as real game competition.

Until the team faces another opponent it won’t be seen how good, or bad, the rushing attack will be. But after a full offseason of work, they’re confident.

Who is the most important player for the Jaguars’ offense?

Going into training camp it was obvious that Brian Thomas Jr. was the most important player on Jacksonville’s offense. The team spent most of the offseason finetuning the relationship between he and Lawrence.

The result was unlocking a downfield threat aspect to Coen’s offense that was largely missing in 2025.

Then the focus shifted in training camp as Parker Washington starred, reeling in passes all over the field. He made catches no matter who was covering him or the route he was running. It was clear that he’d be a major component of the offense as he became a favorite target of Lawrence’s.

Despite both players having important roles in Jacksonville’s offense, neither can compare to how important Lawrence is to everything Jacksonville wants to do.

Parker Washington pic.twitter.com/BuEdEYSsq7

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) April 9, 2026

He had his best season as a professional in Year 1 under Coen, rewriting the franchise record book while finishing as an MVP finalist for the first time in his career. Now, with a better understanding and ownership of the offense, he’s set up for even more success in Year 2.

“Marrying the run, the pass, the play action, all that stuff, the screens, the movements, all that stuff looking the same,” Lawrence said on what he likes about Coen’s offense.

The unpredictability of the offense plus the ability to audible into other plays gives Lawrence a full set of tools to work with at the line of scrimmage. He has autonomy to adjust the play based on what he sees from opponents. It’s a responsibility that requires him to communicate a lot with teammates so they’re on the same page with him.

“I think he does a great job of communicating, almost over communicating,” wide receiver Jakobi Meyers said of Lawrence. “We know exactly what he's looking for.”

Those same thoughts were echoed by Thomas, who made an effort with Lawrence to deepen their relationship this summer. During Thomas’ rookie season, as he was becoming one of the top pass catchers in the league, Lawrence was sidelined with a season-ending injury.

Then last season Thomas was battling injuries throughout the season, never fully healthy as he worked through several hampering. This offseason the two players showed their potential, torching all opponents with their newfound connection.

“I wouldn't say there’s stuff that we go out there and just do that we don't have to communicate,” Thomas said. He got behind Tampa’s defense to score on the opening play in joint practice with the Buccaneers, a sign that the work this offseason paid off. “I mean, we really communicate a lot out there, and we have to be super communicative.”

Count 'em... 6️⃣ TDs for Trevor Lawrence pic.twitter.com/FwNQvLbHG8

— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2025

Lawrence is crucial in all phases of Jacksonville’s offense. Obviously, what he can do with his arm will be beneficial, but what he can do with his legs is equally important to the Jaguars’ scheme.

His ability to extend plays by buying extra time for receivers to get open or breaking free to gain yardage on the ground has become a focal point of Coen’s offense. It showed in redzone work during the joint practices where the Jaguars scored touchdown after touchdown.

“When we got better in the red zone last year was when Trevor started using his legs,” Coen said. He added that across the league a large portion of the red zone touchdowns come from off-schedule plays. “It's so hard to scheme wide-open or open receivers in the red zone. It's so much tighter. There's less vertical grass. And especially versus a three-man, four-man rush, it's challenging.”

Lawrence showed that he was elite at making off schedule passes last season. He had throws against the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs where he bought time before ripping a pass downfield. It’s become a superpower, of sorts, for the sixth-year passer.

As the team prepares to take the field this season, Lawrence is entering the year with a fresh mindset. The past is the past, whether it’s his good or bad plays. He’s solely focused on helping the team improve. That’s why he’s the most important player on Jacksonville’s offense.

“He approaches it with that same beginner mentality or that white-belt mindset every single time he steps in the door,” offensive coordinator Grant Udinski said. "That's what makes him so special.”

Projected starting unit for Jaguars’ offense

Anton Harrison (left tackle), Emmanuel Pregnon (left guard), Robert Hainsey (center), Ezra Cleveland (right guard), Cole Van Lanen (right tackle), Brenton Strange (tight end), Parker Washington (wide receiver), Jakobi Meyers (wide receiver), Brian Thomas Jr. (wide receiver), Bhayshul Tuten/Chris Rodriguez (running back), Trevor Lawrence (quarterback)

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars offense: Trevor Lawrence leads charge for 2025 AFC South Champs