Jaguars open first training camp under Doug Pederson with questions that need answers fast

Another season, another new regime for the Jaguars — the fourth in seven years.

Of course, there's hope among fans that Doug Pederson, like Gus Bradley, Doug Marrone and Urban Meyer, will be the answer, that his background with quarterbacks will have a positive influence on Trevor Lawrence in his second season and that the Super Bowl magic he had with Philadelphia in 2017 will rub off on a franchise that has won four games in the last two seasons and averaged less than five per season over the last 14.

But as one Jaguars fan put it on Twitter last week: "We've been offseason champs as long as I can remember."

Those components of the offseason — free agency, the draft, OTAs and mini-camp — are over. Training camp begins on Monday at Episcopal High School's Knight Campus (the Jaguars practice facility is undergoing renovation), the team will go into pads on Aug. 1 and the first preseason game in Canton, Ohio against the Las Vegas Raiders will be only three days after that on Aug 4.

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The main questions need to be answered and fast. Among them:

Was too much damage done to Trevor Lawrence?

Can Lawrence shake off the chaos that was his rookie year under the hapless Meyer regime, and thrive under Pederson?

His new coach's track record suggests that's a strong possibility. Pederson played the position in the NFL and has been around great quarterbacks and offensive coaches his entire career.

He backed up two Hall of Famers as a player (Brett Favre and Dan Marino), was an offensive assistant under Andy Reid at Kansas City, then went to the Eagles where he developed Carson Wentz and won the Super Bowl when Nick Foles had to step in with three weeks left in the regular season.

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Will the Jaguars have running back success?

Can the running back situation stabilize with the team's best offensive player of the last two seasons, James Robinson, and first-round draft pick Travis Etienne both coming off serious injuries (Robinson, Achilles Tendon, Etienne, Linsfranc).

Etienne was able to participate in OTAs and mini-camp and Robinson worked mainly on conditioning and rehab. If both are healthy and effective, an enormous burden would be taken off Lawrence.

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Will Travon Walker live up to No. 1 pick status?

Will taking Georgia outside linebacker Travon Walker as the No. 1 overall draft pick over Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson pan out, not only for Walker's sake but to keep teams from putting too much attention on fourth-year veteran Josh Allen on the other side?

Walker is the team's second No. 1 overall pick in as many years. His immeasurables are impressive, but they will need to translate on the field.

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Can the new-look defense be a strength?

Will a nearly totally revamped linebacking corp in free-agent signing Foyesade Oluokun and drafted rookies Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma back up a defensive front that is considered the team's defensive strength, help out in the pass game (such as finally getting someone to cover tight ends) and enable defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell to mix, match and otherwise create some havoc?

The Jaguars were in the bottom five in the league in defensive secondary ratings in 2021. That will have to change.

How much better will the offense be?

With a draft heavily invested in defense, will the free-agent signings on offense in wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones and tight end Evan Engram, collaborate with returnees such as wide receivers Marvin Jones, Laviska Shenault and Laquon Treadwell and tight end Dan Arnold to diversify the offense and take full advantage of Lawrence's skills?

There are other issues, of course. The Jaguars need to settle on a kicker, hope that safety Andre Cisco will add depth in the secondary after barely getting a chance last season, need rookie center Luke Fortner to mature in a hurry to replace Brandon Linder and are counting on continued development by second-year tackle Walker Little and third-year guard Ben Bartch.

But there's little doubt the No. 1 issue will be whether Pederson, offensive coordinator Press Taylor, passing game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and quarterback coach Mike McCoy can help Lawrence put last year's struggles behind him.

"It’s a lot to put on a first-year, first-time rookie quarterback," Pederson said during a news conference on June 9. "There’s a lot that goes into it. You’re representing the organization, you’re leading the football team, you’re standing in front of the media every day and every week."

"It’s tough and then to go through what he went through and how he kind of came through it and stood tall and really took a lot of bullets ... really did a great job of handling all that. I think that’s just going to make him that much more special as we go."

One factor in Lawrence's advantage: he won't have to go through Meyer's façade that there was actually a quarterback competition with Gardner Minshew, and Lawrence will get the bulk of the first-team snaps.

Mainly because of the lack of parking at the Episcopal facility, the Jaguars will not have any open training camp sessions for fans.

The first chance for them to get a glimpse of the product Pederson and his staff is putting on the field will come on Aug. 12 at TIAA Bank Field when the Jags face the Cleveland Browns.

The Steelers come to Jacksonville on Aug. 20 and after that, it will be nearly a month before the team is back in town, for the 2022 home opener on Sept. 18 against the Indianapolis Colts.

Between the final home preseason game and the first home regular-season game, the Jags will have a joint practice Aug. 24-25 with the Atlanta Falcons in Flowery Branch, Ga., then face the Falcons on Aug. 27 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The season begins on Sept. 11 in Washington.

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com

KEY JAGUARS PRESEASON DATES

Sunday: Team reports at TIAA Bank Field.

Monday: First practice of training camp, Episcopal High School Knight Campus.

Aug. 1: First practice in pads.

Aug. 4: Hall of Fame preseason game vs. Las Vegas Raiders, Canton, Ohio., 8 p.m.

Aug. 12: Preseason game vs. Cleveland Browns, TIAA Bank Field, 7 p.m.

Aug. 16: Roster cuts, 90 players to 85.

Aug. 20: Preseason game vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, TIAA Bank Field, 7 p.m.

Aug. 23: Roster cuts, 85 players to 80.

Aug. 24-25: Combined practices with Atlanta Falcons, Flowery Branch, Ga.

Aug. 27: Preseason game at Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 3 p.m.

Aug. 30: Final roster cuts, 80 players to 53.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars begin training camp with Hall of Fame game fast approaching