JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After missing most of training camp and every preseason game with a hamstring injury, Jaguars rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd has a chance to play in Saturday's preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons.
"If the week progresses in his favor and our favor, he will see some time in this game which is what we need to see," Jaguars head coach, Doug Pederson, said.
Lloyd has increased his workload and taken part in individual drills and some team drills in the last two weeks. But, none of it compares to live NFL game speed.
"I know he’s getting mental reps, and he’s in there during the walkthroughs in the afternoons with the defense, making calls and all that, but when things get sped up is where things can kind of get sideways, so we just need to see him out there this week and hopefully in the game," Pederson said.
Lawrence Trusting his Instincts:
Trevor Lawrence made two elite level throws Saturday against the Steelers.
One to Marvin Jones, where Lawrence put the perfect mix of air and velocity on the ball to drop it over the defensive back and on Jones' number.
The second, was to Christian Kirk on a ball Lawrence blistered over underneath coverage.
Two throws that personify how far Lawrence has come under Doug Pederson's offense.
"You know, we always say buckets. You know, you want to throw that ball in the bucket up over a defender certain things, and that's exactly what that was. But, you know, I also think that comes with having confidence in the guys you're going to trusting that they're going to be to a spot because you're going to anticipate so many throws. In this game. You don't stay open very long. So you got to anticipate, you know, throw the ball on the margin of error and I think he's done a good job of that so far," quarterbacks coach, Mike McCoy said.
The Lawrence Kirk connection had an impressive debut Saturday against the Steelers as Kirk caught 5 passes for 54 yards on 8 targets. Two of which were overthrows by Lawrence.
"It's great to have Christian, you know, a special talent, you know, and having a quarterback having somebody like that, not just him all the guys, you know, I think the group of guys, they've worked extremely hard to get where we are today. We continue to get better every week. That's the goal," McCoy said.