How Liam Coen Can Help Trevor Lawrence the Most?

With the hiring of head coach Liam Coen this offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars made one thing clear: their present and future is about developing franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The entire hiring of Coen seemed to hinge on Lawrence, and whether Coen can repeat the success with the Jaguars' signal-caller that he had with Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I think we interviewed 10 potential candidates. I think with the lack of success we've had here, certainly over the last year and a half, it's a chance for reflection from me. I think what was the fundamental thing that we need to address, and the number one thing, obviously, is the quarterback position," Jaguars owner Shad Khan said at Coen's introductory press conference.

"Our commitment to Trevor, I think it's well known and believe in him. So, it started with that. That was the fundamental question, really, to all the candidates. How would they do it? After we got done with that, it was very evident to me that Liam was the guy."

So, how exactly can Coen help Lawrence? What can he do to help the Jaguars; quarterback finally have a strong foundation around him aside from improving the team's culture and ultimate offensive philosophy?

It is simple, and general manager James Gladstone gave us preview of what the answer is all the way back during the NFL Scouting Combine.

"But when it comes to his offensive philosophy, the marriage between the run and the pass, the multiplicity of the screen game, the variety of the run game, he gives this team a notable edge and I think that’s something everybody’s going to appreciate," Gladstone said.

The screen game. Something Coen mastered with the Buccaneers, and an easy button that has rarely been there for Lawrence. In Lawrence's career, he has ranked No. 18, No. 13, No. 16, and No. 17 among qualifying passers in yards per attempt on screen passes in his career, per Pro Football Focus.

This hasn't been due to a lack of effort, but more so to do with a lack of execution. Lawrence ranked No. 6 and No. 4 in screen rate in 2022 and 2023, but the number fell to No. 18 in 2024. In the first two years under Doug Pederson, the Jaguars were a high-volume screen team that saw little in the way of results.

That is where Coen can help take the Jaguars and Lawrence to another level the quickest. It doesn't take the best quarterbacks in football to run a good screen game; instead, it should be used as a way to support and complement a team's signal-caller.

Coen did it last year, with Mayfield ranking No. 1 in screen yards, No. 4 in screen rate, No. 6 in yards per attempt, and No. 2 in touchdowns.

Coen has taken other passing offenses to new levels before, and the screen game is a heck of a place to start. This is where he can help Lawrence from Week 1.