Texans S Justin Reid shares light on preparing for Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans will welcome Trevor Lawrence — the top overall selection during the 2021 NFL Draft — to the league Sunday at NRG Stadium. It will be one of the most anticipated debuts in history, as the 21-year-old quarterback is entering the league touted as the best prospect at his position since Andrew Luck in 2012.

The Texans are not reluctant to speak on Lawrence’s talent that made him Jacksonville’s No. 1 pick. Safety Justin Reid said he believes Lawrence is a special kid with tremendous arm talent. But he is still a rookie entering his first game.

Lawrence has the Jacksonville Jaguars favored by -3.5, which would end the Texans’ six-game win streak against their AFC South foe.

“Rookies are going to do rookie things as far as wanting to see receivers open and things like that,” Reid said. “He is the number one overall draft pick, and we are going to give him the credit, and respect he deserves because of that. Talented kid. Like I said, it’s his first game under the lights when the games count, so we will see how he does.”

To prepare for the Jaguars’ new quarterback, Reid has studied Lawrence’s preseason games instead of watching college films from Clemson. Reid said he focused on Darrell Bevell’s schemes — Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator — to get a sense of how the Jaguars will use Lawrence’s attributes in the NFL.

In three exhibition games, Lawrence completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. The Jaguars finished the preseason with a 1-2 record.

But for Reid, trying to secure the Texans’ first win of the 2021 season will go beyond trying to contain Lawrence.

“I think that is their strong suit on their team at this point is their wide receivers,” he said. “They got Marvin Jones, they got D.J. Chark, they got Laviska Shenault. They have some talented guys that are over there. I think that their scheme is going to be suited to Trevor Lawrence more than anything to make sure he is comfortable with getting the ball out and around. But their receivers are their strong suit.”

Sept 10 2017, marked the last time the Texans dropped a home game to the Jaguars. Jacksonville took a 29-7 victory over Houston as Leonard Fournette rush for 100 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut. Ironically, the Texans were led by another Clemson legend in Deshaun Watson, who threw for 102 yards and one touchdown.