Jaguars Plan To Start Anton Harrison’s Development at Right Tackle
The Jacksonville Jaguars have their Jawaan Taylor replacement.
After losing Taylor -- their starter at right tackle -- in free agency to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Jaguars are officially set to replace him with first-round tackle Anton Harrison, who they picked at No. 27 overall last Thursday.
“He’s going to come in and work over on the right side,” Pederson told Kainani Stevens of Jaguars.com. “He’ll be next to Brandon Scherff and sort of solidify that spot for us.
“His versatility, not only to play the left side which he played in school, but he can also move inside and potentially play guard, so there’s so many things that we can do. But we want to keep him in one spot, get him to start developing and growing in one spot and feel comfortable there before we start moving him around.”
Harrison started 24 games over the last two seasons, with 23 starts coming at left tackle and one at right tackle. Harrison has said since he was drafted that he feels comfortable and natural on the right side, with his one start coming without any practice reps.
"It's the reason we took him in the first round. Everything about him: his skill set, how he fits, how he moves, the transition from right side to left side. His ability to not only pass block but come off the ball and have that mean streak in him as an offensive lineman in the run game. That's what you see with him. That's what we got excited about, obviously," Pederson said on Friday.
"Coach Rauscher spent some time with him at the Pro Day, the Combine, different places. We felt very comfortable with him. I met him for the first time at the Combine. Had a really good 20-minute interview. It was something that for me, it raised the eyebrows that this is a special young man. It's the reason why we took him in the first round."
With Harrison at right tackle, the expected Week 1 started at left tackle is set to be third-year tackle Walker Little, who has started eight games at left tackle in the last two years, including five last year. Veteran tackle Cam Robinson is facing a likely suspension to start the 2023 season due to a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy, while Josh Wells is expected to start the year as the Jaguars' swing tackle.
