Jaguars young OL preparing for the challenge of J.J. Watt, Texans pass rush

After almost a decade of dominance throughout the NFL and AFC South, Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt hasn't slowed down. Just ask Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone.

“Well J.J. Watt is a challenge for anyone. You’re talking about someone who’s definitely a Hall of Fame player who has a motor like I’ve never seen before. I can’t say enough great things about him," Marrone said Wednesday. "He’s a challenge for anyone. It doesn’t matter who’s playing."

As the Jaguars (0-1) prepare to clash with the Houston Texans (0-1) at NRG Stadium on Sunday, preventing Watt from changing the game will be among Marrone's top challenges. In three games against the Jaguars since Marrone was hired as head coach in 2017, Watt has only recorded 1.5 sacks, but his presence is has been felt each time.

Two of the players who will be primarily tasked with blocking Watt, and another solid pass rusher in Whitney Mercilus, will be offensive tackles Will Richardson and Jawaan Taylor, each of whom made their first NFL starts against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 1.

"I feel like a big thing with J.J. Watt is they let that man play," Richardson said Wednesday. "He might get out of a gap on this play, he might rush inside on this play even though he is supposed to be containing. The Texans kind of just let him play football."

One helpful factor for the young tackles might be the ability to pick the brains of the three players they will play next to. Center Brandon Linder and right guard A.J. Cann have each played several games against Watt since being drafted in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and left guard Andrew Norwell started against the Texans in last season's week 7 loss in Jacksonville.

"Yeah, I pick their brains throughout the day and throughout the week," Taylor said. "It is very beneficial. Those guys, they have been in the league for a little bit so they can tell me a lot of different things to look to, different things to better my gameplan and better myself to be able to play."

Richardson said the veteran presence along the offensive line front has been especially helpful as he prepares for his first start against a divisional opponent. Because Linder has seen the same Texans scheme for the past several seasons, he is well versed in how they operate and is using that experience to help his younger teammates.

"We are all in a group chat and Linder sends us a three-page message on all of their tells on what they’re doing; when they are running cross-dogs, when they are blitzing, when they are dropping back," Richardson said.

"It took me ten minutes to read the whole thing. ... Things like that, it helps you out. And I have looked back at the message two or free times so far and out there today I was like looking for those keys."

Right guard A.J. Cann has seen his fair share of J.J. Watt since Watt often aligns himself on the interior. His advice to his younger teammates, who will face that test for the first time in their career on Sunday? Be confident and keep fighting.

"I just tell those guys, he does have some power, he’s very, very quick. I say just keep competing," Cann said. "J.J.’s one of those guys that keeps working, and I feel like if you keep working and competing just as much as he does, you give yourself a better chance throughout the game. Just keep fighting. "

But while Watt receives most of the attention from analysts going into Sunday, the Jaguars offensive line knows it will also have to account for Mercilus, an eight-year veteran who has 43.5 career sacks.

This is why inside pressure is a must. Reader rolls the guard into Brees. Mercilus with a good rush takes him right to the QB for the sack. #Texans pic.twitter.com/hVacDtKJFk
— patrick (@PatDStat) September 11, 2019

"Oh man, he is a vet. He is a really, really smart player. From what I was watching yesterday, he is really good at reading his keys and he’s great at getting into one pass rush move and working a counter," Richardson said.

"He still has the ability to get after the passer, especially on the outside edge. And he still has that good spin move. … he is definitely still a force in this league if he’s not dealt with."