There's Very Little Doubt Who the Jaguars' Left Tackle Is

With Liam Coen and the Jacksonville Jaguars getting set to convene at the Miller Electric Center next week for the initial training camp of what they hope to be a new and long-lasting era in franchise operations, there are going to be position battles.

While competition is encouraged by leadership, having established anchors at key spots is ideal, and the left tackle position is a big one. However, it seems that Offensive Line Coach Shaun Serrett is going little there, as in Walker Little. On the latest edition of the Jacksonville Jaguars Insider Podcast, Jaguars on SI Beat Reporter John Shipley predicted the Week One starters on all five spots as guardians of the Duval gates. Walker was chief among them.

"I have Walker Little starting the season, Week One, at left tackle," Shipley said. "I think Little is now, finally, in a place where he's going to be allowed to develop at left tackle and not just kind of ride the bench and get a couple of games' audition when something happens."

"You know, he's never entered a season at Week One as a starting left tackle, and that was only because Cam Robinson was suspended. The Jaguars had no intentions of playing him over Cam Robinson at left tackle. Hence why, right when Cam Robinson came back, despite being one of the NFL's best left tackles for the first month of the 2023 season, they moved Walker Little over to left guard."

With all of his qualifications, GM James Gladstone, HC Coen, and OC Grant Udinski have not declared the competition as moot. The trio brought in Super Bowl Champion Fred Johnson via free agency as a possibility to battle Little.

"I think the Jaguars have a good left tackle in Walker Little. I don't think Fred Johnson is going to push him very much, though he is, of course, now at least there. So Walker Little knows that. He does have someone pushing him. I don't think in any sense that Walker Little is being given the job, etc. "

"I just think Walker Little is the clear, undisputed top left tackle on the roster, and as a result, that's where he and the Jaguars find themselves," Shipley concluded.

Competition goes a long way, and Little has the work ethic to go out and seize the job. If he does, the offensive line doesn't just have an anchor. The entire team does as well.

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