QB guru Jordan Palmer not concerned about the development of Trevor Lawrence

A big reason many were anxious to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars this season was to witness the development of No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Needless to say, it’s been a roller coaster of a ride for the rookie who caught fire around Week 4, but has simmered down some since the bye and is struggling.

As a result of Lawrence’s recent struggles, many have started to grow concerned for the rookie’s development. However, there have been many obstacles in his way like the lack of talent around him, scheming decisions, and injuries that have become hurdles for Lawrence, though he’s made his share of rookie mistakes, too.

One person who doesn’t share those concerns, though, is the man who trained Lawrence this offseason: Jordan Palmer. On a recent appearance on the “Rich Eisen Show,” Palmer said that he’s seen way worse starts when it comes to rookie quarterbacks and feels that some roster development would help.

“You know, every rookie who ends up playing has a different start,” Palmer said. “We’ve seen guys start hot and we’ve seen a ton of guys start a lot worse than Trevor. Really, when you’re the No. 1 pick, you’re taking over a team that earned the No. 1 pick. So you have a roster that needs to be developed and all that.”

One thing most would agree with Palmer on is that Lawrence needs more around him, and hopefully, the Jags see this issue and look to add some talent in the offseason. He’ll at least have Travis Etienne returning in 2022, but the team could afford to add an extensive amount of help at receiver, too.

As for the mistakes that Lawrence has made, Palmer said the most encouraging thing is that there doesn’t seem to be a pattern of the same issues with Lawrence, which is an encouraging sign.

“What I look at with Trevor is how often are you making the same decisions, good ones or bad ones, over and over again,” Palmer said. “I think there are certain interceptions that a quarterback has to throw to know they can’t throw that ball […] Coach can tell you not to do it, but you’ve got to do it and feel it to harness that. I don’t see Trevor making a lot of the same mistakes.”

Palmer is right about Lawrence learning from his mistakes, and while his rookie campaign has been far from perfect, he’s at least done a better job of taking care of the ball and has only thrown three picks dating back to Week 5. However, before that, he had thrown seven.

When talking about the positives, Palmer praised Lawrence for being aggressive and attempting to push the ball down the field. He also added that patience is needed as there is still a lot of newness around the rookie.

“I see him being aggressive and pushing the ball downfield and trying to execute this offense quickly,” Palmer added. “Roster-wise, they’re going to continue to evolve. New staff. New everything. I just don’t see Trevor making a lot of the same mistakes over and over again so that means I see him progressing and at no point does the game seem too hard, or too big, or too fast or too complex. I think he’s progressing nicely and I think everyone should be patient.”

As a former quarterback himself and someone who has trained some of the best like Josh Allen and Deshaun Watson, Palmer’s thoughts on Lawrence should mean a lot. However, where some may disagree is that things could get better in terms of the scheme around him.

It’s unclear who is predominately in charge of the offensive game-planning between coach Urban Meyer and coordinator Darrell Bevell, but some believe there could be disagreements going on that concern how to make Lawrence more comfortable. Meyer’s statements after the Jags’ loss to Atlanta certainly make it seem as though there is at least some confusion or reluctance about how to make the rookie comfortable and it’s concerning that the staff is just now figuring it out.

All of that said, whatever issues the staff is having on their end needs to get cleared up soon for the sake of Lawrence. Once that happens, he can undoubtedly take off as Palmer believes.