Jacksonville will have a lot of decisions to make along the offensive line this season. Left tackle Cam Robinson is playing on the franchise tag, and the team will have to decide whether to hand him a long-term deal or let him walk. Meanwhile, guard A.J. Cann becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and given his struggles before he was lost for the year with an injury, the team is likely to take its chances on Ben Bartch, who has played well in Cann’s absence.
But in addition to those two (and right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who will be under contract but has struggled), the Jags’ have to decide what they want to do with left guard Andrew Norwell.
Norwell was a splashy signing back in 2018, and though his contract initially ran through 2022, the team restructured his deal this past offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent in just a few months.
Given the way Norwell has played this season (and the fact that he’s still just 30), the team would be smart to re-sign him. And he’s making a good case for it. This chart from ESPN’s Seth Walder, using NFL Next Gen Stats, compares run-block win rate with pass-block win rate for left guards.
Run block win rate at left guard (x) by pass block win rate at left guard (y).
-Joe Thuney leads LGs in PBWR
-Quenton Nelson banged up and not as strong as usual, still above average
-Rodger Saffold also banged up, but this is 2nd straight year he's been near bottom in PBWR pic.twitter.com/C0ztRFKzKM— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) November 30, 2021
As you can see, Norwell has the highest run-block win rate of any left guard in the league, and he ranks in the top 10 in pass-block win rate. Interestingly, Norwell holds a solid but not great 74.1 season grade from Pro Football Focus, but his pass-blocking grade (80.7) is higher than his run-blocking grade (71.5).
He’s done a good job opening up holes for James Robinson in the run game, and the protection for Trevor Lawrence has been adequate now that the team likely has its five best linemen on the field.
Norwell hasn’t exactly been elite, but quality offensive linemen are hard to come by, and considering the amount of cap space this team possesses, it would make a lot of sense to shore up the left guard position, especially with several other changes to the unit likely to come in the next two years.