Tag: Anton Harrison

Jaguars reveal jersey numbers for 2023 draft picks

The Jaguars announced Thursday what numbers their 2023 draft picks will wear in the NFL.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced on Thursday the jersey numbers for the 13 players they picked in the 2023 NFL draft.

The team tweeted that first-round pick Anton Harrison, who wore No. 71 in college will switch to become No. 76 with the Jaguars.

Here are the jersey numbers for the Jaguars’ 2023 draftees:

  • OT Anton Harrison – No. 76
  • TE Brenton Strange – No. 85
  • RB Tank Bigsby – No. 4
  • LB Ventrell Miller – No. 51
  • DL Tyler Lacy – No. 93
  • OLB Yasir Abdullah – No. 56
  • S Antonio Johnson – No. 26
  • WR Parker Washington – No. 11
  • CB Christian Braswell – No. 36
  • CB Erick Hallett II – No. 40
  • OL Cooper Hodges – No. 75
  • DL Raymond Vohasek – No. 59
  • FB Derek Parish – No. 43

Among the most interesting choices is Miller wearing the No. 51 jersey, which has been unoccupied since Paul Posluszny left the team after the 2017 season. Washington will take over the No. 11 jersey that was previously owner by Marvin Jones Jr.

The undrafted additions to the roster will wear the following numbers:

  • DT Jayson Ademolia – No. 66
  • OLB D.J. Coleman – No. 54
  • WR Elijah Cooks – No. 84
  • CB Kaleb Hayes – No. 43
  • LB Dequan Jackson – No. 55
  • OL Samuel Jackson – No. 62
  • WR Jaray Jenkins – No. 87
  • CB Oliver Martin – No. 88
  • TE Leonard Taylor – No. 49
  • CB Divaad Wilson – No. 27

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Introducing the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2023 NFL Draft class

Get to know the 13 players drafted by the Jaguars this year.

The 2023 NFL draft is in the books and the Jacksonville Jaguars added their biggest class ever.

With 13 players — 10 of which came on Day 3 — the Jaguars have a ton of rookies competing for spots on a mostly intact roster that won the AFC South in 2022.

While experts largely predicted that the Jaguars would target defensive backs and pass rushers early, the team instead spent its first three picks on offensive players.

Here’s the baker’s dozen of draftees and links to learn more about each of them:

Peter King: Raiders almost drafted Anton Harrison at No. 12 overall

The Jaguars weren’t the only ones who coveted Anton Harrison.

There’s been some debate surrounding the value of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ selection of offensive tackle Anton Harrison at No. 27 overall. While picking a Jawaan Taylor replacement made sense, some thought it was a little early for the former Oklahoma tackle to come off the board.

The Las Vegas Raiders were certainly not in that boat.

Peter King of NBC Sports spent Thursday night in the Raiders’ draft room. In a column published Monday morning, he said that Las Vegas caught wind that the Arizona Cardinals — who had traded down to 12th overall earlier in the evening — were interested in trading back up into the top 10.

The Raiders owned the seventh pick and were hoping to land Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. or Texas Tech pass rusher Tyree Wilson. But a potential trade with Arizona opened up a third possibility: moving down and picking Harrison at No. 12 overall.

5:42 p.m.: Cards GM Monti Ossenfort called Ziegler. Hushed discussion, presumably exchanging potential offers for the pick. Then Ziegler and McDaniels huddled. Having the 12th and 33rd overall picks, to go along with the Raiders’ 38th choice, would be tempting. “We could get [Oklahoma tackle Anton] Harrison at 12,” McDaniels said. The Raiders loved Harrison—not as much as Johnson, but enough maybe to lose the fourth non-QB they love in order to pick up the 33rd pick. They mulled.

Alas, the Raiders never got the option. The Cardinals struck a deal with the Detroit Lions for the sixth overall selection and nabbed Johnson. A pick later, Las Vegas took Wilson at seventh overall.

The Raiders didn’t pick again until the second round, but King says the started mulling a trade back into the first round due in part to Harrison still being available. That fell apart once the Jaguars took the tackle with the No. 27 pick.

But there wasn’t much enthusiasm to deal after Banks and Harrison went off the board. Ziegler made a couple of calls about moving up to fill a hole left by the trade of tight end Darren Waller with Mayer, but never got far—or appeared enthusiastic to do it.

Las Vegas eventually moved up a few picks on Friday to secure Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer.

It’s impossible to know if there were other teams that had a high opinion of Harrison, but were similarly out of position to make a move. But now there’s proof that at least one team thinks as highly about the tackle as the Jaguars do.

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What round Oklahoma Football stars have been drafted since 2000

A look back at where each former Oklahoma Sooner was drafted since 2000.

The Oklahoma Sooners had five players selected in the 2023 NFL draft. Led by Anton Harrison’s selection in the first round of the draft, the Sooners had a player in each of the first three rounds of the draft.

Oklahoma’s history of success has led to a rich history of draft picks over the years. Since the year 2000, the Sooners have had 19 players selected in the first round, including three first-overall picks and eight top-10 picks.

The last non-quarterback to be taken in the top 10 of the draft was Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson also represented the last offensive lineman taken in the first round of the draft until Harrison was selected on Thursday night.

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Here’s a look at each Oklahoma Sooners draft pick since the year 2000 and what round each player was taken.

5 Sooners with the best chance to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft

Taking a look at five Sooners that have a chance to be NFL draft picks in 2024.

Another year and another NFL draft has come and gone. For Oklahoma, this draft saw the Sooners have five players selected. The Sooners had picks on all three days of the draft, with Anton Harrison’s leading the way. Drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Harrison became Oklahoma’s the first round one selection since CeeDee Lamb was taken 17th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in 2020.

With this draft behind us, NFL and college football have already turned their attention to next year’s class. It’s a group that will be headlined by standout quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.

Oklahoma lost five players to the NFL Draft despite having their worst season in over 20 years. What can another year of development and better results on the field bring next year’s NFL Draft picks?

Only time will tell, but Oklahoma is well-positioned to have multiple draft picks next year as well. We take a look at a few of the names below. Several names will have legibility after 2023, but big-time seasons this year could lead them to declare early.

How experts graded the Jaguars’ 2023 NFL draft class

The Jaguars added 13 new players in the 2023 NFL draft. Here’s what experts thought of their haul:

The Jacksonville Jaguars impressed Thursday night when they maneuvered their way into three extra draft picks via two trades before landing a starting right tackle in Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison at No. 27 overall. The team’s Friday decisions to pick tight end Brenton Strange and running back Tank Bigsby weren’t quite as popular.

But now that the 2023 NFL draft is in the books and the Jaguars have 13 new draftees on their rosters, what did experts think of the team’s weekend?

Here’s a roundup of reviews of the Jaguars’ 2023 draft class:

Jaguars’ Doug Pederson says Anton Harrison will play right tackle

Doug Pederson says the plan is for Anton Harrison to “solidify” the right tackle spot for the Jaguars.

The plan is for Jacksonville Jaguars first-round pick Anton Harrison to take over at right tackle and “solidify” the position for the team, according to head coach Doug Pederson.

The Jaguars have an interesting situation to navigate among their offensive tackles. After losing starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor in free agency, it seemed 2021 second-round pick Walker Little was primed to step into that role after two years as a backup.

That changed when news broke Wednesday night that left tackle Cam Robinson is expected to be suspended at the start of the 2023 season for a violation of the performance-enhancing drug policy. The selection of Harrison with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft came about 24 hours after word of the impending suspension was made public.

“He’s going to come in and work over on the right side,” Pederson said of Harrison in an interview with Kainani Stevens of Jaguars.com. “He’ll be next to [right guard] Brandon Scherff and sort of solidify that spot for us.

“His versatility, not only to play the left side which he played in school, but he can also move inside and potentially play guard, so there’s so many things that we can do. But we want to keep him in one spot, get him to start developing and growing in one spot and feel comfortable there before we start moving him around.”

The implication from Pederson is that the plan is not only for Harrison to be the Jaguars’ Week 1 starter on the right side, but to stay in that role after Robinson’s suspension is over.

So where does that leave Little? In 2022, he took over at left tackle late in the year and into the playoffs when Robinson went down with a meniscus injury. Little is the obvious choice to be the Week 1 starter at left tackle when Robinson is out of action, but the Jaguars may have a choice to make when the suspension ends.

With Robinson due to count more than $22 million against the Jaguars’ salary cap in each of the next two seasons, it seems unlikely that he’ll be with the team in 2024, as Jacksonville has a pair of starters already on the roster in Little and Harrison.

Does that mean Robinson will be on the trading block before the season starts or just prior to the 2023 trade deadline? Or do the Jaguars intend on Robinson and Little battling for the left tackle job, despite the impending PED ban?

Either way, Harrison holding down the right tackle job seems to offer a bit more evidence that the Jaguars don’t envision Robinson being with the team too much longer.

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One play from each draftee that shows what they bring to the Jaguars

What do the newest members of the Jaguars bring to the table? These plays offer a glimpse:

It obviously takes a lot more than one play to evaluate a football player. But sometimes one highlight is all it takes to see the size, speed, strength, athleticism, and skills that someone brings to the field.

In the 2023 NFL draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars added 13 new players to their roster. While some — like former Auburn running back Tank Bigsby and Florida linebacker Ventrell Miller — might be familiar to Jaguars fans, others are new names and faces.

So what do the new members of the Jaguars bring to the table? Here’s one highlight from each draftee that shows what Jacksonville hopes it’s going to get:

Doug Pederson on not drafting defense: ‘It’s the way the board fell’

Three straight offensive players to start the draft isn’t what many expected from the Jaguars.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t have many glaring needs entering the 2023 NFL draft, as 21 of the team’s 22 starters from last season are set to return.

But after the Jaguars offense — which finished the 2022 season 10th in total yards — led the way for the team en route to the AFC South crown, it seemed the defense — which was 24th in yards allowed — would be the higher priority.

At the top of the list of needs to be addressed seemed to be the cornerback position and pass rush. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson called improving the latter “vital.”

In the first three rounds of the draft, those defensive concerns were ignored. Instead the team drafted offensive tackle Anton Harrison, tight end Brenton Strange, and running back Tank Bigsby in rounds one, two, and three, respectively.

“You’re not just saying, ‘We’re going to focus on one side of the football,'” Pederson explained Friday night after the third round ended. “A lot of times you want to make decisions that are best for the football team. Doesn’t matter if it’s offense, defense or special teams.

“It’s just kind of the way the board fell to us the last two days. We’ve got several picks left to address many, many other areas. Really I think just to be able to add depth, good football players that are still there, to bring that competition that we look for, that I look for, that’s what makes us better.”

Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke, who continued his streak of picking exactly one running back in every draft he’s ever run, offered a similar explanation of the team’s decision not to pick a defensive player.

“The board fell the way it fell,” Baalke said. “When you’re picking where we’re picking, there’s a lot of good players that are going to go off the board. You try to make some trades at times to do some things. It takes two to tango. Sometimes you can make a move, sometimes you can’t. At the end of the day we stayed true to the board.”

Last year, the Jaguars picks defensive players with three of their four selections in the first two days of the 2022 NFL draft.

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Oklahoma’s Wanya Morris selected No. 92 overall by Kansas City

Oklahoma Sooners offensive tackle Wanya Morris is headed to the Kansas City Chiefs.

For the second day of the 2023 NFL draft, an Oklahoma Sooners offensive lineman comes off the board. Offensive tackle Wanya Morris was taken in the third round with the No. 92 overall pick by the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

It was pretty well known that the Chiefs would be in the market for offensive line help this offseason, and in particular in the NFL draft after losing Orlando Brown in free agency. A multitude of mock drafts projected [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag] to go to the Chiefs at the end of the first round. Harrison went No. 27 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. So, Wanya Morris becomes a high priority given his pass-blocking prowess and his experience..

Morris transferred to the Sooners in the 2021 offseason after spending the first part of his collegiate career with Tennessee. He struggled to carve out a role in 2021, but became a starter in 2022 and had a strong season, certainly worthy of a top 100 selection.

He’s got just over 1,700 snaps to his ledger and started eight games for Oklahoma in 2022. He was a big part of a breakout rushing performance from Eric Gray.

With the pick, the Kansas City Chiefs get some much-needed reinforcements on the offensive line. With a hole at one of the tackle spots, there’s an opportunity for Wanya Morris to earn a spot right away.

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