Former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence saw more extensive action in his second preseason outing with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
After playing only 15 snaps over two drives in his NFL preseason debut against the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 14 in Jacksonville, Lawrence was on the field for 30 snaps across six drives during the Jags’ 23-21 loss to the Saints.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft completed 14-of-23 passes for 113 yards and had a passer rating of 73.3 in the exhibition contest.
Lawrence met with the media after the game and broke down his performance.
“Obviously you’d like to play as well as you can, and there was a few things that looking back — and I’m going to have to go watch the film — but just even after that series on the field, I could feel like I need to get it out quicker, I need to find my back, check it down, don’t force stuff downfield, just take what they’re giving me,” Lawrence said. “It’s a long game, and just continuing to put us in a good position to win, which is staying ahead of the chains, taking completions when you can get them. So, all that I need to get better at.”
Lawrence, who also rushed one time for 9 yards, felt he better utilized his legs to create plays against the Saints than he did in his preseason debut vs. the Browns.
“I thought I made some plays with my legs, which was an emphasis that I wanted to do this week better than I did last week,” Lawrence said. “Got out of the pocket a couple times, so that was an improvement. But overall, as an offense, as a team, got a lot of work to do. But I think we’re heading in the right direction, for sure.”
Lawrence took a big hit at one point in the game when he decided to run and opted not to slide, something he admits he had an opportunity to do but chose not to in an effort to move the chains.
“It was third down, that’s the only reason I didn’t,” he said. “I thought about it right there — there was a little pocket to slide — but they mark you back from where you start your slide, so I wouldn’t have gotten the first down there. So, third and fourth down, you’ve got to go get it. But other than that, I’ll try to get down.”
A few of Lawrence’s highlights against the Saints included a 15-yard dart to Laviska Shenault Jr. on the run under pressure, a 13-yard pass to Marvin Jones for a third-down conversion, and an 18-yard throw over the middle to Luke Farrell.
Lawrence finished strong in his second preseason outing, completing his first five passes on his final series before the drive stalled.
“I felt comfortable,” Lawrence said. “I thought I was seeing it pretty well. A few times, like I said, just taking completions and keep the chains moving and keeping us out of those second- and third-and-longs was the biggest takeaway. But I felt comfortable, especially towards the end of the first half. We were getting in a nice rhythm, we were playing faster. I thought we were rolling, so just build on that.”
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