Tag: Anton Harrison

What does the Ezra Cleveland trade mean for Walker Little?

Walker Little has spent most of his NFL career as the odd man out. It looks like that could be the case once again.

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Walker Little has spent most of his NFL career as the odd man out. It looks like that could be the case once again.

On Tuesday, the Jaguars made a trade just before the NFL deadline to acquire veteran guard Ezra Cleveland from the Minnesota Vikings. While coach Doug Pederson described the addition as one that’ll give the Jaguars “really good depth,” it sure seems like a little more than that.

Cleveland, 25, developed into a consistent and reliable starting lineman during his time with the Vikings. And Jacksonville probably didn’t give up a draft pick for what could be a short-term rental just so Cleveland can watch from the sideline.

If Cleveland does end up starting at left guard (a consistent weak spot for the Jaguars for the last two years), that probably leaves no place for Little. That’s nothing new.

The 2021 second-round pick spent the majority of his first two seasons as a backup for offensive tackles Cam Robinson and Jawaan Taylor. The departure of Taylor in free agency opened up a place for Little to start at right tackle, but the Jaguars quickly filled that hole with 2023 first-round pick Anton Harrison.

With Ben Bartch and Tyler Shatley struggling at left guard early in the year, Little stepped into the role when Robinson returned from a four-game suspension. That lasted just 11 snaps before a knee injury sidelined Little and pushed Shatley back into the starting lineup.

Little should be healthy enough to return to the field after the bye week (he didn’t play in Week 8, despite being active), but there may not be a spot left for him to fill. And the wildest part is that Little may be the team’s best offensive lineman!

In five games and 179 pass blocking snaps this season, Little was credited with allowing only one sack. His 76.0 grade on Pro Football Focus so far this season is second best on the Jaguars offense behind only quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s 84.9.

Having too many good offensive linemen and not enough starting spots is a great problem to have, but Little’s inability to secure a consistent role is a peculiar byproduct.

Is Little the future starting left tackle with the Jaguars able to recoup $17.75 million in cap space by cutting Robinson after the season? It looked that way before the 2023 season started and could still be the case, but it no longer seems like a slam dunk move with Robinson playing some of the best football of his career.

Will Cleveland leave as a free agent and free up Little to take back starting left guard duties for good? Or would it make more sense to cut ties with Brandon Scherff and move Little to right guard?

Eventually, it feels prudent to get Little permanently involved in the Jaguars offense. The team’s Tuesday trade for Cleveland probably kicked that can down the road, though.

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Would the Jaguars still pick Anton Harrison in 2023 NFL draft do-over?

In a re-draft at DraftWire, the Jaguars went a different direction with the No. 27 overall pick.

The Jacksonville Jaguars moved down twice in April and still landed their guy, Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison, with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. But would they do it again?

At DraftWire, they did a do-over of the first round after the first eight weeks of the 2023 season. With the Jaguars still picking 27th (they were originally set to pick 24th), they landed Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright instead in the re-draft. Harrison wasn’t selected at all in the first round.

In the real draft, Wright was selected 10th overall by the Chicago Bears. His 66.1 grade on Pro Football Focus is No. 1 among rookie linemen who have played at least half their team’s offensive snaps so far. Harrison has a 56.9 grade.

It’s not exactly a whiff for the Jaguars, though, as Wright was never on the board for them in the first place. However, Jacksonville passed on Ohio State’s Dawand Jones a few times before he was picked by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 111 selection in the fourth round.

In the DraftWire re-draft, Jones was taken sixth overall by the Arizona Cardinals. In his first seven career games, Jones has allowed two sacks and 12 pressures.

With the power of hindsight, the Jaguars probably could’ve waited a bit to get a quality right tackle a bit later. The quick improvements Harrison is making as a rookie should give them plenty of confidence they didn’t make a bad choice, though.

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Steelers in Week 8

Here are five Jaguars players to watch out for as they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8:

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be headed off to Pittsburgh this weekend to play the Steelers after a Week 7 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

The Jaguars have continued their hot streak and have a chance to extend it versus an over-performing Steelers squad. Pittsburgh is 4-2, while Jacksonville sits at 5-2.

Both teams are on a winning streak with the Steelers winning two in a row and the Jaguars winning a fourth straight. Jacksonville has been firing on all cylinders, even with a bevy of injuries.

Here are five Jacksonville players to watch as the Jaguars take on the Steelers in Week 8:

Jaguars OT Anton Harrison: ‘I’ve been getting better every week’

Anton Harrison is feeling good about the progress he’s making during his rookie season.

A little over a month ago, Jacksonville Jaguars rookie right tackle Anton Harrison described a tough day against the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones as his “welcome to the NFL” moment.

Five games later, Harrison is settling in as a reliable pass protector.

“I feel like I’ve been getting better every week,” Harrison said Wednesday. “I’ve just been trying to build on the performance I put on the field in the last [game]. I come in every Monday with the mindset to restart, reset, and get better. I feel like I’ve been doing pretty good at that.”

Harrison, 21, was credited with allowing three sacks and five pressures in the Jaguars’ first two games, per Pro Football Focus. He’s allowed only one sack and five pressures in the five games since.

“It’s fun to watch Anton get better every week,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “He’s been playing really, really good ball and it’s exciting to watch him just keep getting better.”

A Week 8 road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers may be Harrison’s toughest test, though. On the opposite of the line of scrimmage will be five-time Pro Bowler T.J. Watt, who almost exclusively rushes off the right side of the offensive line.

“He’s a great player, one of the best to do it,” Harrison said of Watt. “It’s really just about coming in, studying, studying him, studying their defense, and just coming up with a game plan and knowing what I need to do to stop him, to stop their defense. That’s the main thing and then it’s just being confident in myself to do it.”

Will Harrison be on his own against Watt? Probably not. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson was asked how often his team can afford to block Watt with a one-on-one matchup.

“Never,” Pederson said. “You have to understand that this is a good player, a great player. You give him the respect that he is due, he’s earned that. You have to spend some resources in that direction.”

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Saints in Week 7

Here are five Jaguars players to watch as they take on the Saints on Thursday:

The Jacksonville Jaguars are riding a win streak, but the same can’t be said about their Week 7 opponent.

Jacksonville has won three straight, but the New Orleans Saints have lost three of their last four games. The Saints have a handful of impactful players, but the Jaguars roster seems to have more talent, and they’ve hit a groove.

Jacksonville’s players are stepping it up and the team has seen vast improvements during a three-game win streak against the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, and Indianapolis Colts.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch in their Week 7 game against the Saints:

Jaguars PFF grades: Best and worst performers vs. Colts

The Jaguars’ defense impressed the graders at PFF in a 37-20 win against the Colts.

The Jacksonville Jaguars extended their winning streak to three Sunday with a 37-20 drubbing of the Indianapolis Colts.

While the Jaguars were left a little annoyed by their sluggish finish to the game, there weren’t many negatives to nitpick. Jacksonville scored a season-high 37 points, getting into the end zone four times against the Colts. The Jaguars defense shut down the Indianapolis run game and forced four turnovers.

Unsurprisingly, the graders at Pro Football Focus came away impressed with the defense — giving eight Jaguars defenders a grade above 70. They weren’t as high on the offense where just two players cleared that mark.

Here are the five highest graded Jaguars on both sides of the ball, as well as the players who had a day to forget:

Zay Jones out, Jamal Agnew a ‘game-time decision’ vs. Falcons

The Jaguars ruled out three players and listed three as questionable for Week 4.

The Jacksonville Jaguars ruled out three players for a Week 4 game against the Atlanta Falcons and listed three as questionable.

Zay Jones, Devin Lloyd, and Antonio Johnson will all miss the contest, but wide receiver Jamal Agnew will be the one most under the microscope. The return specialist popped up on the injury report Thursday and his status for Sunday is up in the air.

On Friday, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson told reporters that Agnew will be a game-time decision, although he added the team is optimistic the receiver will be able to play.

With Jones out of action in Week 3, the team elevated Jacob Harris from the practice squad to the active roster and targeted Tim Jones more often in the passing game. The team also has rookies Parker Washington and Elijah Cooks on the roster, but kept them as healthy inactives in each of the first three weeks.

There doesn’t appear to be much concern about the availability of the other two questionable players, Foley Fatukasi and Anton Harrison.

For the Falcons, wide receiver Josh Ali is out and running back/wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson is questionable. Both players have yet to appear in a game this season. Patterson led the Falcons in touchdowns during the 2022 season.

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6 Oklahoma Sooners to watch vs. the Iowa State Cyclones

Oklahoma takes on Iowa State for the final time as Big 12 foes. We’re taking a look at 6 Oklahoma Sooners we’ll be watching in week 5.

Oklahoma can improve to 5-0 on Saturday evening and continue to build on their turnaround effort. The Sooners will host their Big 12 foes, the Iowa State Cyclones, one last time this weekend.

Both teams come into the game with wins. The Cyclones showed a little life offensively in their win over Oklahoma State. The Sooners continued to show off their defensive improvement with a stingy win over Cincinnati.

How Oklahoma handles the ever-increasing hype behind its defense and the increased meaning with each passing week, will be fascinating. There’s also the game that looms ahead of them next week. Avoiding looking ahead to Texas will be pivotal.

For Oklahoma to come out on top and avoid being upset at home, they’ll need to play their game from start to finish. Here are six players we believe will be key come Saturday as Oklahoma looks to go 2-0 in Big 12 play.

Chiefs’ Chris Jones on Anton Harrison: ‘This kid is going to be good’

A few days after handing Anton Harrison a “welcome to the NFL” moment, Chris Jones defended the rookie.

Anton Harrison’s second career game in the NFL was a rough one. The Jacksonville Jaguars’ rookie right tackle was matched up frequently against the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones, one of the league’s best defensive players.

Harrison, 21, was credited with allowing two sacks in the game and struggled to keep Jones from getting pressure on Trevor Lawrence.

On Wednesday, Harrison told Mia O’Brien of 1010XL that Week 2 was a bit of a “welcome to the NFL” moment and showed him many aspects of his game that need improvement.

But it was Jones who came to the rookie’s defense on social media, replying to video of Harrison’s interview with “this kid is going to be good”:

Jaguars players and coaches have been similarly supportive of Harrison. Left tackle Walker Little told reporters earlier in the week that the rookie is “going to be a real force for the team” and head coach Doug Pederson said he has “all of the confidence in the world” in Harrison.

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Texans in Week 3

Here are five Jaguars players to watch when they look to take down the Texans in Week 3:

The Jacksonville Jaguars now sit at 1-1 with a tilt against the Houston Texans slated for Week 3.

Jacksonville’s electric offense had trouble against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, but its defense kept it in the game. Houston’s team has less firepower on offense and fewer showstoppers on defense, so the Jaguars have a prime opportunity to bounce back.

The Texans fell to 0-2 after they suffered losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts in their first two games of the season.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch in their Week 3 home game versus the Texans: