Trevor Lawrence film review from the Jaguars' Week 4 win

Welcome back!

I've got some exciting updates coming to this column. Starting next week, there will be analytical charts showing Trevor Lawrence's production in various categories (throw distance, with/without pressure, in the redzone, etc.).

For now, here are my notes from his Week 4 outing against the Niners.

They say tigers don't change their stripes.

But Lawrence is developing before our very eyes – from a gunslinger to a game manager.

According to PFF, the only quarterback this season who throws the ball or gets sacked at a faster rate than Lawrence is Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers is getting the ball out quickly because he turns 42 in two months. Avoiding sacks is probably best for the health of both himself and Pittsburgh's offense.

Meanwhile, Lawrence is getting the ball out quickly because of... growth?

Jacksonville, which ranks first in defensive turnovers and fourth in rushing yards, doesn't need him to play superhero anymore. The team is well-rounded. They've been tied or held a lead for all but 9 minutes and 10 seconds of game time this season.

Still, we're talking about a guy who seemingly couldn't grasp the idea of living to see another down.

Just last week, Lawrence threw a ball must've had, like, a 2% chance of being caught. It was easily intercepted.

On Sunday, Lawrence almost made the same mistake, but he was able to draw in the reins.

Growth!

Little by little, Lawrence is putting the ball in harm's way less often.

It doesn't always looks pretty, though.

On his third dropback of Week 4, Lawrence turned down a deep crosser to Parker Washington and settled for an intermediate pass to Johnny Mundt.

There's no excuse for not uncorking the ball to Washington. Jacksonville called a perfect concept against San Francisco's Cover 4 coverage and the pocket was clean.

Lawrence was too conservative on this play. To make matters worse, his throw to Mundt was high, which nearly resulted in an interception.

This is why Liam Coen demanded better ball placement from Lawrence by thumping his own chest from the sidelines in Week 2. High throws are vulnerable to being tipped and picked.

Here's a similar play.

Lawrence's conservativeness was understandable given the play location – a sack there could've been devastating. That's why he read the side of the field with a three-man concept rather than zeroing in on Brian Thomas Jr., who was open on the other side. It's also why he left the pocket prematurely, though it resulted in a holding penalty on Walker Little.

Again, Lawrence turned off 'big game hunter' mode to settle for a throw to a tight end, and again, the throw was high.

Here's another similar play.

With it being 3rd-and-11, there's nobody open within five yards of the first down marker. Lawrence doesn't have a viable option so he takes the checkdown rather than chucking a prayer. It's yet another pass to a tight end that's too high.

This next play is the inverse. Lawrence delivers an accurate checkdown, albeit at the cost of a potential Travis Hunter touchdown down the seam against Cover 4.

To be fair, Hunter looked as open as he did because the defenders watched Lawrence make a quick throw to the other side of the field.

Yet Hunter also looked open on this deep post route against the same coverage.

Lawrence has thrown the ball 20+ yards downfield on just 7.6% of pass attempts this season (including 6.5% of attempts on Sunday), per PFF. That ranks 29th among 34 quarterbacks. Lawrence's deep throw rate was north of 10% in each of his four previous seasons.

Sure, there are plays where Lawrence progressed through his reads a little quicker than he had to, which left a big play or three on the field. But it's been a worthwhile development to avoid turnovers and keep the chains moving.

Lawrence still has room to grow in terms of knowing when or when not to take shots downfield. It's not a quick process for any quarterback. But through just four games under Coen's coaching staff, he's developed in this area more than he ever has before. He really just needs to limit those high throws.

His post-snap decision-making, while a work in progress, is trending in the right direction. The amount of plays that he's in sync with the offense is going up.

Lawrence threw the ball in under 2.5 seconds on 59.4% of dropbacks in Week 4, per PFF. It's the first time that figure has been north of 50% this season.

Here's a Week 4 compilation of Lawrence making good choices and delivering accurate passes.

Hunter's big catch (0:37 mark) was cool as hell, but my favorite play was the one right after that.

Lawrence saw the Niners in a blitz look and made an audible (which I cut out of the clip to make the video short enough to post on X) to a new play. He connected with Brenton Strange to pick up a first down against a Cover 1 Man blitz. It may not look like much, but that is professional quarterbacking.

Granted, this performance came against a declining defense that was missing Nick Bosa, but hopefully it's a sign of things to come.

We'll learn just how much Lawrence has evolved into a game manager when the Jaguars host Steve Spagnuolo's Chiefs defense on Monday Night Football.

Thank you for reading! Check back soon for more Jaguars analysis.