Jaguars GM: Trevor Lawrence And Doug Pederson Is 'A Marriage Made In Heaven'
The Jacksonville Jaguars believe the franchise struck gold with Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence and the Jaguars gave fans a valiant effort in a playoff loss to the Chiefs, and while the season didn't end on a high note, Pederson proved the team could be very competitive. In just one season, the Jaguars went from a joke to being a legit squad that won a playoff game.
General manager Trent Baalke believes the relationship shared by Pederson and Lawrence plays a major role in the team's success.
"That’s a marriage made in heaven there because they related to each other that way. They’re both fearless, Trevor doesn’t fear anything. They’re very authentic, so when you have leaders at the quarterback position and at the head coach position that are like that, everybody else just kind of falls in line," Baalke explained, according to PFT.
Trevor Lawrence and the Jags are trending up.
The former first overall pick struggled mightily at times during his rookie campaign under Urban Meyer. It wasn't a good year.
He threw just 12 touchdowns to 17 interceptions and completed only 59.6% of his passes. The talent was there, but things weren't clicking.
Then, Urban Meyer was fired and Doug Pederson was ultimately hired. Almost immediately, Lawrence elevated his play. This past season, he threw for 25 touchdowns to just eight interceptions and improved his completion percentage to a very solid 66.3%.
All that really changed was Doug Pederson coming in as the franchise's head coach. The team went from 3-14 to 9-8 in the regular season with a win in the playoffs over the Chargers. Jacksonville did a complete 180 under Pederson in Lawrence's second year.
Baalke is 100% correct when he says it's "a marriage made in heaven."
If Lawrence takes another huge step forward in year three, fans could be in for a hell of a ride.