Whenever a franchise selects first overall and don’t have a proven quarterback, it almost always chooses to address that position with the pick. This is the exact situation Jacksonville finds itself in, and it’s an open secret that the team plans to address the position with its first pick.
In an interview with reporter Anthony Amey, Jaguars assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach Charlie Strong said that the current coaching staff knows what it’s doing when it comes to developing a quarterback. Before working for the Lions, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell held the same position in Seattle where he helped develop Russell Wilson and led the unit to two Super Bowl appearances (including a win in Super Bowl XLVIII).
Meanwhile, passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer succeeded Bevell in Seattle, where he worked for the last three years. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams and the New York Jets as well as a stint at the college level with the Georgia Bulldogs.
Strong said the duo, with the leadership of head coach Urban Meyer, whose track record as an offensive coach at Ohio State, Florida, and prior jobs speaks for itself, knows what it’s doing when it comes to developing a quarterback.
“With Bevell being the offensive coordinator and then (coach Schottenheimer) being the quarterback coach, they have a track record of getting the quarterback ready,” he said. “And Urban’s an offensive guy, he’s driven, that’s his deal is offensive. So I think when they make that selection, which it’s been a lot poured into it so the groundwork has already been laid, so when they make that selection, everyone will be prepared to go.”
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In addition to basically stating that the team will take a quarterback with the first overall pick, Strong seemed to heavily imply who that quarterback will be. Though no one affiliated with the Jaguars has officially come out and said it, the predominant belief has been that they will take Clemson passer, Trevor Lawrence.
While Strong didn’t confirm this, he also seemed to concede that the team’s decision is already widely known.
“When you talk about the quarterback, whomever it may be — and everybody knows who it’s going to be, it’s no secret…”
The NFL draft is less than a week away, and soon the coaches won’t have to speak about Lawrence in such coded language. But for the time being, it seems Strong, who is very familiar with Meyer as the two worked together at Florida from 2005 until 2009, is confident in this coaching staff’s ability to prepare a quarterback.