Joining NFL Network from the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Nevada, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence expressed his belief that the 2024 Jaguars are “the best team we’ve had” since he was drafted by Jacksonville in 2021.
He feels particularly strongly about his pass-catching corps.
Lawrence praised the group across the board, highlighting the multiple offseason additions to Jacksonville’s wide receiver room — free-agent signees Gabe Davis and Devin Duvernay, and first-round draft pick Brian Thomas Jr. — joining established Jaguars playmakers and rising young talents ahead of the upcoming season.
“We have a really dynamic group of pass-catchers,” Lawrence told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche.
“There’s a lot of guys we have on the offensive side of the ball that can play and I’m excited to showcase that.”
At tight end, Lawrence pointed not only to the Jaguars’ leader in receptions from 2023, Evan Engram, but also to Jacksonville’s second-round pick from a year ago, Brenton Strange. Strange caught only five passes for 35 yards and one touchdown as a rookie, but could be in a breakout this season, per Lawrence.
“Obviously [Engram] had a great year last year, really great with the ball in his hands, does a lot of things to help us, good blocker too,” Lawrence said. “Brenton is a young guy that didn’t get as many touches last year but has a lot of talent and is a really good player. I think he’s gonna take off this year.”
Davis, Duvernay and Thomas join veteran slot Christian Kirk at the Jaguars’ revamped receiver position. They replace Calvin Ridley and Jamal Agnew, who became free agents in March, and Zay Jones, who was released by Jacksonville in May, in the room.
Ridley’s departure was most notable. He paced the Jaguars with 1,016 receiving yards in 2023 before signing a four-year, $92 million contract with Tennessee this offseason, leading Jacksonville to target Thomas in the draft’s first round.
But Lawrence believes the influx of contributors and development of young depth receivers, such as 2023 sixth-round pick Parker Washington and three-year Jaguars special teamer Tim Jones, has softened the blow of Ridley’s exit and created a well-rounded group of pass-catchers.
“You’ve got Christian, you’ve got Devin, you’ve got Brian Thomas, you’ve got Gabe who we just picked up in the offseason as well. And that’s just to mention a few of them. We’ve got a lot of young guys, too, that can really play,” said Lawrence.
“So you look at that and just the amount of different types of pass-catchers that we have, whether they’re big, fast, strong, good after the catch, good at creating separation, whatever it is, possession guys. I think we kind of have all of that. So as a quarterback, that makes me really excited.”
