“Right now, we’re trying to continue to find our edge,” said head coach Liam Coen after the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ training camp session. Those words hit differently when you dig deeper. Jacksonville’s betting big on a fresh start this season. A new coach, roster upgrades, and Trevor Lawrence facing a potentially career-defining season have fans cautiously hopeful again. But the reality behind closed doors tells a different story.

Lawrence has been working his way back from a rough 2024 season. The former number one pick missed significant time with injuries, which has taken a toll on his confidence. His mechanics also needed work. Training camp was supposed to be his comeback stage. Instead, Coen is seeing things that worry him. The quarterback’s decision-making under pressure remains shaky, and his pocket presence still needs serious work. For all the optimism surrounding Jacksonville’s new direction, Lawrence’s struggles represent a major red flag.

Quarterback development doesn’t follow a straight line. Trevor Lawrence knows this better than anyone. The fifth-year signal-caller carries a $55 million AAV contract and the weight of sky-high expectations. His Jacksonville career has been a rollercoaster of brilliant flashes and crushing setbacks. Injuries derailed promising seasons. Inconsistency plagued his game. Critics questioned whether the former Clemson superstar could deliver on his “generational” billing.

This Friday changed everything. The Jaguars released practice footage that perfectly captured Lawrence’s growing pains. When a reporter asked Liam Coen about Chad Muma‘s interception of his quarterback, the head coach’s reaction was telling. “Yeah, I mean, with one hand as well. That was, I mean, thank God I hit him in the chest, you know, got tipped like we were, he was throwing the ball down the field to Parker, gets tipped right in Chad’s hand. So, you know, those are the moments where you’re, you’re pissed at first and then, hey, good job Chad.”

Coen’s frustration was obvious. The pass should have been routine. Instead, it became a teaching moment that highlighted Lawrence’s ongoing struggles with decision-making under pressure. The coach’s mixed emotions—anger followed by praise for the defender—revealed the complex reality of developing a franchise quarterback. Jacksonville’s offensive overhaul runs deeper than just Coen. Grant Udinski coordinates the offense, while Spencer Whipple coaches the quarterbacks. They’re tasked with unlocking Lawrence’s potential in a system borrowed from successful programs. The key ally might surprise fans—backup Nick Mullens, who brings three years of experience in Kevin O’Connell’s Minnesota operation.

Lawrence credits Mullens with selling him on the system’s potential. “Hearing him just when I first came in, his confidence and how he feels about the system is like, man, you’re going to love it. You can trust it. The progressions are great. You just keep trusting it. Trust your feet. Stay on time. All those things.” The veteran backup’s endorsement carries weight. Mullens understands the Shanahan-McVay principles that form the foundation of Jacksonville’s new approach. His confidence helped ease Lawrence’s transition into unfamiliar concepts.

Lawrence has focused intensely on eye discipline this offseason. “Just using, exactly like you said, my eyes as a weapon and not giving the defensive tip on anything of where I’m going with the ball and trying to use my eyes to move people or to open up certain windows or whatever. It’s been something that a lot of quarterbacks do and I never really knew.” The admission stings. Neither Urban Meyer nor Doug Pederson emphasized this fundamental skill during their tenures. Lawrence is essentially learning quarterback basics at age 25. But sometimes, the best discoveries come when you find your own way.

Learning the hard way: Trevor Lawrence tackles his toughest offensive challenge yet

Trevor Lawrence‘s NFL journey reads like a survival guide. The former number one pick weathered Urban Meyer‘s toxic regime during a brutal 3-14 rookie season. He bounced back from injuries that derailed promising campaigns. Now he’s juggling fatherhood while learning the most complex offensive system of his career. Liam Coen arrived in Jacksonville with serious credentials. The first-year head coach transformed Baker Mayfield into a legitimate starter, earning the journeyman quarterback a massive contract extension in Tampa Bay. Coen’s offensive system ranked third in points and fourth in total yards last season. But complexity comes with a price.

Lawrence admitted the learning curve hit harder than expected during Training Camp 2025 at Miller Electric Center. When reporters asked if this was the most difficult offense he’d encountered in five NFL seasons, his answer was brutally honest: “Yeah, I would say so. I think now, looking at it, going through it now for the second time after OTAs, I feel so much more confident and comfortable in it. So, the things that I thought were difficult at first have become more second nature and aren’t as big of a deal now. But yeah, I would say just the amount of things you have to know, the amount of calls with multiple plays, so that we can be in a position to succeed and be in the right play, it’s more of that than I’ve ever had. It’s a lot of motions, a lot of shifts, all those things and then just longer play calls.”

That admission speaks volumes. Lawrence has operated under three different coordinators in Duval. None demanded this level of mental gymnastics. Coen’s system requires quarterbacks to process multiple play options, motion calls, and formation shifts before the snap. The verbiage alone sounds like learning a foreign language. The payoff appears worth the struggle. Lawrence and his teammates have moved beyond the initial overwhelm phase. They’re executing with confidence now, which should terrify opposing defenses.

When your quarterback masters a system that produced elite offensive numbers, good things typically follow. Will the Jags’ draft gambit and an all-in move on a first-time HC pay off big?