Lawrence continues to shine during Jaguars training camp, Notes from Day 2

Jaguars training camp is in full gear as the team looks to rebuild under new leadership and a new toy at quarterback.

It was yet another impressive day for Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence who took the field in front of fans for the first time since being selected No. 1 overall in this year’s draft.

Following an impressive first day of camp, Lawrence would put his arm on display yet again, showcasing why he deserved to be the top player drafted and the Jaguars’ future franchise quarterback.

While Day 1 featured third-year quarterback Gardner Minshew II receiving the majority of the first-team repetitions, Lawrence would take that role. Head coach Urban Meyer indicated that the two quarterbacks would rotate throughout camp as the team looks to find its Day 1 starting quarterback to open the season.

The highlights of the day would once again come from the team’s 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills, a time when the offense can dominate against the defense due to the rules regarding a lack of press coverage. Lawrence would toss several long touchdowns throughout the day, and appeared cool, calm and collected during the session.

Speaking with the media following practice on Thursday, Jaguars offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell noted that he was pleased with what Lawrence has brought to the table through two days.

“He is looking good,” he said. “I’m really pleased with where he is at in terms of his preparation and then being able to carry that over to the field. We will continue to work each and every day.”

While Jaguars’ defenders don’t hold much of an advantage during the early portions of non-padded training camp, safety Rayshawn Jenkins still can’t help but notice just how talented Lawrence is at quarterback, especially his athleticism and mobility at the position.

“[He has a] strong arm. He can make all the throws that I can see right now and he’s more mobile than I thought as well too,” Jenkins said shortly after practice on Wednesday.

“Guys coming off the edge on those zone reads and stuff, you really need to be on your toes. That’s one thing I really noticed about him. He’s more mobile than I thought he was.”

Jenkins is plenty familiar with rookie quarterbacks, playing with Los Angeles Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert last year. Herbert would go on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year after completing 66.6% of his passes for 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The veteran safety can see some similarities between the two quarterbacks.

“To me, they’re kind of similar. They have a similar body type, length, and everything, they can make any throw you want them to and have the pocket presence. I feel like the similarities are there, but at the end of the day, he has to put it on the field, and we’ll see how it goes throughout the season.”

As the season moves forward, Lawrence will be expected to do great things for Jacksonville, and those expectations are only getting higher through the first couple of days of camp.

Notes:

• Plenty of depth at running back

The Jaguars entered the season with one of the top rushers from last year in undrafted free agent running back James Robinson. Robinson posted high numbers last year, accumulating over 1,000 yards on the ground and 10 total touchdowns.

With the addition of Travis Etienne in this year’s draft, that will be that much better. During yesterday’s practice, Etienne would be on the receiving end of several swing passes, catching the ball with ease while getting up the field. He also showed off plenty of quickness in and out of the hole in team drills.

“I mean yeah we’re trying to again put him in those hard situations and you know we’re trying to make it as difficult as we can on him,” Bevell said of the first-round running back.

“Give him a lot and then again we will kind of hone it down and get him exactly where we want him.”

• There isn’t really a QB competition

It shouldn’t really come as a surprise that the Jaguars’ quarterback competition could be over quickly after Lawrence was selected at No. 1 overall, but over the first two days of practice, it’s clear who the starting QB will be once the season begins. Lawrence has looked poised and possesses the best arm of the three quarterbacks competing for the job.

While Minshew will have plenty of opportunities to tighten the race, there simply haven’t been any signs of Lawrence letting go of his grip on the starting gig. This all could change as the pads go on and the defensive backs are allowed to be more active and physical, however.

• Rookie safety Andre Cisco is back in action

After sitting out most of OTAs and minicamp rehabilitating a torn ACL from a year ago, the third-round safety out of Syracuse is back in action, seeing plenty of work in team drills throughout the day. He’s already begun to impress his fellow defensive backs, including veteran Rayshawn Jenkins.

“I like the way he moves, especially coming off a knee injury being able to move like that,” Jenkins said of Cisco.

“I don’t know when he had surgery, but you wouldn’t be able to tell just from looking at him. Quick breaks, he’s really poised. He’s poised to be a young player. I remember coming in, I wasn’t as poised as him and I was telling him that. So, I’m just trying to stay in his ear just so he can kind of see where his game is compared to some of the other guys.”

Don’t be surprised to see Cisco earn plenty of playing time as the season moves forward this year.

• Highlight reel of the day:

While the offense has received plenty of love throughout camp thus far with a lack of physicality allowed, the defense did have at least one nice play on the day during yesterday’s session.

During team drills on Thursday, Sydney Jones IV would make the best defensive play of camp thus far, hauling in a one-handed acrobatic interception against CJ Beathard. While the receiver did fall down on the play, Jones made a quick adjustment to haul in the pass.