Lawrence, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, finished fifth in NFL Most Valuable Player balloting last season after throwing 29 touchdowns, rushing for nine touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. Coen on Thursday praised Lawrence's offseason decision-making.
"I don't know how many picks he actually threw, but I have to believe it was under five throughout all of OTAs and minicamp," Coen said. "While trying to challenge himself and our receivers more with down-the-field passing, challenging him to try new things of concepts and fit some throws into maybe windows you would otherwise take a check down in …
"While balancing that, I thought he did a really nice job taking care of the football, running the whole operation, managing the protections and some of the concepts on the field."
Coen on Thursday for a second consecutive day praised the defensive secondary, saying the "defensive coverage has improved" and adding that defensive backs are "getting a little bit more confident to come up and challenge people."
Meyers on the secondary's improvement: "I felt it, honestly. They are around when I'm trying to get open, but it's pushed us to be better in our room, so hopefully we just keep having that iron sharpening iron."
Coen, too, praised defensive end Travon Walker who has participated fully throughout the offseason after playing through wrist and knee injuries last season. Coen before the offseason program began spoke of having challenged Walker – the No. 1 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft who signed a contract extension this offseason – "to dominate."
"The rush is very difficult to examine during this time, but I think Travon Walker showed up in a big way, especially when we got into some competitive situations, doing what I challenged him with," Coen said. "Through the first two days of minicamp, he didn't lose many reps.
"So I think we got better."