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Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars passing offense finding groove in red zone in OTAs
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- Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars passing offense finding groove in red zone in OTAs
Trevor Lawrence remains in learning mode as he transitions to Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen's offense.
The changes Lawrence must make to his footwork, drops and timing are significant enough to have a learning curve. But, through seven Organized Team Activities , it appears he's making strides in one of the more critical portions of the field: the red zone.
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During the team's OTA No. 7, Lawrence consistently completed touchdowns to multiple players , including receivers Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter and tight end Brenton Strange, among others. The strong performance is a key indicator of future success, but the work will continue throughout the offseason and into the regular season.
Coen has already seen the improvement.
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"I think he's actually done a really nice job in the red zone. Looking back to the first time we did it last Friday, I think he made some quick decisions. Everything is sped up in the red area. The timing, the rhythm, the space — it's all tighter. It's all sped up. I think he has done a nice job with his footwork in the red zone understanding that concept," Coen said Monday.
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After the team's first OTA of the offseason in May, Lawrence said the work he and the team are doing to adjust his footwork and timing could take some time, but he's already getting more comfortable.
"It was foreign to me a little bit in the end, but now it feels more comfortable. Then having a ton of banked reps through all of the weeks in Phase 1, Phase 2 and now onto OTA practices. I am feeling more and more comfortable. I think it is really going to help me. I feel more confident with my feet aligned where I want to go," Lawrence said at the time.
Jacksonville's red zone offense could use some work . Though they ranked 13th in the league last year in terms of converting red-zone appearances into touchdowns, the franchise rarely made it and struggled at times to convert. Jacksonville ranked tied for 21st in the league in red-zone attempts per game at 2.9. Cleveland ranked last with 2.2, while Detroit came in first at 4.3.
Lawrence played in just 10 games, but completed only 45.9% of his passes for 150 yards, 10 touchdowns and an interception in the red zone last year. In the seven other games, former Jags QB Mac Jones completed 56% of his passes for 98 yards and five touchdowns last year.
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In total, Jacksonville completed 31 of 62 (50%) of passes for 248 yards, 15 touchdowns and one interception in the red zone.
On its face, Jacksonville's red-zone passing offense doesn't look bad. Still, Lawrence ranked 35th in the league last year in red-zone passing attempts. Combined with Jones, the team as a whole would have ranked tied for 31st in completion percentage among quarterbacks who attempted at least 20 passes in the red zone.
For perspective, Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield completed 60 of 80 (75%) of his passes for 415 yards, 28 touchdowns and two interceptions inside the 20 last year.
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Jacksonville's red-zone woes aren't truly felt until taking a peek at the team's rushing stats. Jacksonville converted just 11 touchdowns on the ground in the red zone last year. That included five from backup RB Tank Bigsby, three from Lawrence, two from RB Travis Etienne and one from Jones.
Still, with an improved passing game in 2025, the Jaguars should be able to showcase their ground game more effectively, rather than becoming one-dimensional. Lawrence said the transition could take some time, but Jacksonville has plenty of it before the regular season starts.
"Ultimately, good teams in the red zone are able to run the football into the end zone," said Coen.
"It's hard to do that in this setting as a lot of it is geared towards practicing the pass game, the timing, the rhythm, the protections — understanding when zero blitz is coming versus drop eight, those are the things we are getting work at. I think he has done a nice job executing in that area so far."
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Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Trevor Lawrence stars in red zone offense in Jacksonville Jaguars OTAs
