Jacksonville Jaguars training camp: QB Trevor Lawrence returns to form, avoids turnovers

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor tried to put the turnovers by quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the first two days of training camp into perspective.

"For the most part, he's been a good decision-maker when it comes to throwing the ball in harm’s way," Taylor said before Friday's practice. "That's something that I'd rather happen today than in September."

And if Taylor was hoping for a nice bounce-back from his quarterback, he got it.

Lawrence threw incomplete on his first two attempts in an 11-on-11 team period at the Miller Electric Center but settled in and completed his last five attempts in 11 on 11 and was 6 of 8 in 7-on-7 periods, including several good connections with tight end Evan Engram.

Lawrence was 11 of 15 overall, after completing 8 of 15 the day before. More importantly, the offense did not have a turnover when he was under center, after giving the ball away four times in the first two practices, three on interceptions.

Of Lawrence's four incompletions, three came when Brian Thomas Jr., and Engram nearly pulled in high passes and another was a bobble and a drop by Travis Etienne.

The offense didn't escape completely. Nose tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter, who is having a good camp so far, picked off a pass thrown by Mac Jones and bobbled by Austin Trammell in an 11-on-11 period. Ledbetter raced into the end zone after gathering the seventh turnover of camp.

Practice report

Duration: Two hours, spiders (small pads) and shorts.

Weather conditions: 80 degrees and cloudy to start, with a few sprinkles, 85 degrees at the end, humidity 76 percent, heat index 88 degrees.

Injuries: CBs Tyson Campbell and Jarrian Jones, OT Cam Robinson and WR Seth Williams had minor injuries during practice. Campbell had an ankle injury and was limited to individual drills. Jones had an ankle injury but was able to return to practice. Robinson had cramps and returned. Williams' injury came when he got the wind knocked out of him after landing on the ball during a 1-on-1 drill for receivers and defensive backs. Safety Darnell Savage continues to wear a red no-contact jersey and defensive tackle Arik Armstead (PUP list) did conditioning work on the side.

Offense: Jaguars work from the middle of the field

• After two days of heavy red-zone work, the Jaguars stayed around the middle of the field during their team periods. In addition to Lawrence delivering a better performance, C.J. Beathard had his second crisp day in a row, completing 10 of 14 passes combined. Jones was 7 of 13, and 2 of 6 in 11 on 11.
• Jones may have delivered the best pass of the day when he completed a deep pass to Denzel Mims for a touchdown over Tevaughn Campbell.
• Lawrence's TD pass to Engram came after he rolled right, then threw left to the wide-open tight end. Lawrence had another TD pass to Christian Kirk on his final attempt of the day but under live conditions Travon Walker might have sacked Lawrence before the throw.
• During a drill in which receivers went 1-on-1 against defensive backs, tight ends Brenton Strange and Josiah Deguara, and running back D'Ernest Johnson made acrobatic catches.

Defense: Ledbetter has another active day

• In addition to his interception and score, Ledbetter knocked down a Jones pass at the line of scrimmage.
• The defense covered well and at one point, forced either Jones or Beathard to scramble or spike the ball on three plays in a row.
• Okay, Lawrence got picked once but it was in the receivers vs. defensive backs drill. Ronald Darby jumped an inside route and picked off a ball intended for Thomas.
• Other pass break-ups were by linebackers Ventrell Miller and Caleb Johnson and cornerback De'Antre Prince.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars training camp: QB Trevor Lawrence returns to form, avoids turnovers