Rayshawn Jenkins: Trevor Lawrence was given ‘no guidance’ as a rookie

Trevor Lawrence was on his own as rookie, says Rayshawn Jenkins.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence made a massive leap in his second NFL season.

After leading the league in interceptions as a rookie, Lawrence finished year two with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His passer rating jumped by 23.3 (from 71.9 to 95.2) was the second largest improvement a player has ever made after their rookie year.

The difference, according to Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins, is that Lawrence finally has someone helping him improve.

“Unfortunately, Trevor didn’t come into the league with leadership in front of him, at the [quarterback] position or the coaches, in my opinion,” Jenkins told Kay Adams on the Up & Adams podcast. “That’s hard. To play quarterback, the hardest position in the National Football League, and have no guidance or anything.

“No veteran to say, ‘Hey, don’t make that pass.’ No coach to be like, ‘Hey, this is the read from here to here.’ That’s hard to do, so you have to learn everything on the fly as you go. He’s been on. And when he’s on, he’s on.”

When Lawrence was drafted No. 1 overall in 2021, he joined a team led by head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. The other quarterbacks on the roster were Gardner Minshew II, who was traded in August 2021, and C.J. Beathard.

While Beathard is still the only other quarterback on the Jaguars roster, but the coaching staff was overhauled a year ago with Doug Pederson taking over as head coach and Press Taylor as offensive coordinator.