Rookie Jawaan Taylor Settling In As Jaguars' Right Tackle of the Future
“You talk about something that really legitimately made the draft.”
Those were the words of Jacksonville Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin after his front office traded up from No. 38 to No. 35 to select right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
The team knew then they got lucky with Taylor falling to them, and eight weeks into his pro career Taylor has made them feel luckier and luckier. Through the first eight weeks, he has started every game at right tackle and has played every single offensive snap and while he has had his rookie moments, he has also improved in the eyes of his coaches and teammates with every game.
And most importantly, Taylor himself feels like he is getting into his groove and settling into the life of a starting right tackle in the NFL.
“I am settled in now. Of course, like my first five to six games, I was going against a lot of big-time players and stuff, and that definitely taught me a lot,” Taylor told JaguarMaven this week. “But now I am just learning like to get into a routine and getting a regiment every single week and just try to stay consistent and get better.”
The big-time players Taylor had to play in his very first handful of NFL games were a murderers row pass rushers, consisting of the likes of J.J. Watt, Frank Clark, Von Miller, Cam Jordan and Brian Burns. Those are tough matchups for any player, let alone a 21-year old still learning what it means to be an NFL starting offensive lineman.
But those matchups, and the positives and negatives that came with Taylor’s performances, have been instrumental to Taylor’s transition to the NFL.
“I’ve said before, I really like what he’s doing, especially as a first-year player coming in there and playing,” head coach Doug Marrone said this week. “And when you look at the lineup card week-to-week, he’s drawing some of the best players in the league, and I think that that’s the type of experience you can’t replicate on a practice field, and I think he’s playing at a really good level.”
Starting on the edge for the Florida Gators, Taylor drew his fair share of talented edge rushers in the SEC. This includes current teammate and former Kentucky Wildcat defensive end Josh Allen. But all the experience in the SEC can’t show you what Miller or Watt will, and Marrone thinks seeing the best of the best has done nothing but helped his young tackle improve.
“I think that sometimes when you come up to this league there’s some moves, there’s some things that go on, schemes that you haven’t seen and it’s the first time you’re seeing it,” Marrone said.
“And I think he does a great job of preparing in his film study. I think that he has a really good plan when he goes out there, and I think he’s able to adjust and I think when things don’t go his way it’s an unbelievable learning experience for him that he’s able to come back and do better the next time.”
Despite being the youngest player on the entire roster, Taylor has impressed coaches and teammates alike with a maturity that is far beyond his years. Marrone said once you get halfway through a season, you can stop considering rookie players rookies, but Taylor has already made him do that with his play and work ethic.
“But I really can’t say enough good things about him, I’m really, really pleased with him.” Marrone said. “I’m pleased with the way he goes about his business. It doesn’t feel to me that he’s a rookie with [how] he’s playing.”
Taylor said this week that taking his craft seriously on and off the field is one of the most important things to him. Not only does he hang onto every word offensive line coach George Warhop tells him, but he takes his work home with him to prepare him for the next pass rusher he is slated to face.
“I study a lot at home by myself,” he said. “I just make sure I am ready to go and knowing exactly what they like to do, so I get the practice squad guys to give me a good look at it all week.”
To truly get a sense for how well Taylor is settling into an NFL starting lineup, it is advantageous to talk to the two people who play directly to his left on Sundays. Right guards A.J. Cann and Will Richardson are right alongside Taylor in the trenches, and they have been able to see his development both on and off the field through the first half of the season.
“It is just like progress every week. As a rookie coming in, and me too last year even though I didn’t get close to the amount of time he is getting, it is just knowing all the things that you know you have to handle off of the field,” Richardson told JaguarMaven.
“I think he is doing a great job with it and just staying in the zone and getting better every week. I feel like he has done a great job.”
The addition of Taylor to the right tackle spot is especially big for Cann considering he played alongside former Jaguars right tackle Jermey Parnell for the majority of his Jaguars career. Communication and chemistry between linemen on the field is vital, he said. The unit is always a tight-knit group off the field, but it takes an extra level of cohesiveness to gel together on game day.
“But as far as like that on the field communication, it is another thing. You got to be able to see things and sometimes you don’t even have to say it. You just know it,” Cann told JaguarMaven. “And I feel like it is to the point that Jawaan is getting to that level.”
A good example of Taylor beginning to perform blocks seamlessly alongside the blocker next to him came from Week 8’s 29-15 win over the New York Jets, Cann noted.
“There was one time in the game last week where we knew we had to deuce to a certain (linebacker). I didn’t even have to say anything,” Cann said. “The guy flowed over the top and he already knew to get off the block and get to the backer because it is just the feel. That is important coming from a rookie.”
For young linemen like Taylor and Richardson, having veteran players next to them like Cann, center Brandon Linder, left guard Andrew Norwell and left tackle Cam Robinson is nothing short of huge. Taylor said the veterans in the offensive line room have shown him how to be a professional and how to perfect his craft, something he has learned is paramount eight games into his career.
“It helps a lot, man. Being the young guy coming into a big stage like this, playing against a lot of great players, you have to have great communication and of course you have to have great pros next to you to show you how to go about your ways,” Taylor told JaguarMaven.
Taylor still has a long way to go before he becomes the player his potential says he can become. He has to improve his consistency with his weight distribution and balance in pass protection. But through eight games, the Jaguars have seen their young right tackle take his lumps and improve each game, giving them more than enough hope for the future.
“He’s been a really good addition to our team, a good addition to the locker room and we hope to be coaching him for a long time,” Marrone said.
