Anton Harrison has turned a short-term practice assignment into a real conversation for the Jaguars.
What started with Cole Van Lanen opening the 2026 training camp on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list has already shifted the way Jacksonville is looking at its offensive line. The early assumption was simple enough: Walker Little would slide into left tackle until Van Lanen was ready to return, and the rest of the depth chart would stay put. Six practices in, that picture looks a lot less settled.
Harrison has spent the last six days mostly on the left side, and he’s looked the part. The 23rd overall pick in 2023 has started 48 career games at right tackle, but this isn’t some casual shuffle for the sake of camp reps. Harrison played left tackle at Oklahoma, Jacksonville moved him to the right when it drafted him, and now the idea of putting him back where he started is playing out every day on the practice field.
He made a strong early statement on the first padded practice day by winning all four of his one-on-one pass-rush reps, including two against Josh Hines-Allen, the Jaguars’ all-time sack leader. Head coach Liam Coen also spoke publicly after Day 5 about Harrison’s consistency, and he didn’t shut the door on a longer-term change.
“I think he’s done a nice job. It’s part of what we’ve done, moving those guys around and seeing what sticks and if that ends up sticking, hopefully that’s a good thing for us.”
That matters because this staff has shown it will back up its words with actual roster movement. So this isn’t just camp noise or a temporary patch. The question has moved from whether Harrison can handle left tackle to whether Jacksonville wants to leave him there.
There’s also a clear organizational backdrop to all of this. In 2025, the Jaguars made offensive line versatility a major part of Coen’s first season in charge of the system, cross-training most of the linemen throughout the offseason and creating competition at every spot across the front five. The starting group that eventually emerged was broadly what people expected, but the route to getting there was built on flexibility and competition.
One detail from that offseason makes the current moment even more interesting. Van Lanen likely entered that 2025 competition as depth, with Walker Little expected to start at left tackle.
But in that battle, Van Lanen may have had a real shot at the job before a shoulder injury knocked him out of the offseason program. Whether he would have won it outright is impossible to say, but the possibility adds weight to the Jaguars’ willingness to keep turning over the line.
That same history suggests Harrison’s move is more than a convenience. If Jacksonville truly believes in competition along the offensive line, then this stretch at left tackle deserves to be taken seriously.
Contract considerations only add another layer. Van Lanen eventually won the starting job in 2025 and then received a three-year, $51 million extension in Week 17.
Harrison is under contract through 2027 after the Jaguars picked up his fifth-year option in April, and he is now eligible for an extension. That makes the positional question a financial one too: left or right, where does he fit best, and where does Jacksonville want to pay him?
The current opening at left tackle also has a familiar feel to it. Van Lanen’s move into the starting role in 2025 was sparked by uneven play early from Walker Little, along with a Walker Little concussion that cleared the way for Van Lanen to take over in what first looked temporary.
Now Harrison is the one stepping into a new starting role because of Van Lanen’s absence, and he’s doing it well enough that the coaching staff wants to keep seeing it. The final answer is still ahead, but the path is already there inside the building. Competition can change things fast, and Harrison is making a real case to be the Jaguars’ left tackle.
In Other News...
Jaguars Camp Just Exposed A Growing Problem Up Front
The Jaguars eighth training camp practice on Aug. 7 had the feel of a mid-summer checkpoint, with fans on hand for a mock game and plenty of familiar names showing up in the action. Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr. and Montaric Brown all had their moments, but the offense also had its rough spots, with penalties piling up and kicks drifting off target as the day went on.
What stood out most, though, was the state of the offensive line. Several players up front were already dealing with injuries, leaving the unit thinner than ideal at a point in camp when cohesion matters most, and that shortage only sharpened the sense that Jacksonville is trying to sort through more than just assignments and technique. For a team hoping to build rhythm on offense, the health of the line has become a problem worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Defense Is Taking Shape But Key Roster Battles Are Still Open
Six training camp practices in, the Jaguars defense is starting to look less like a collection of bodies and more like a real depth chart. Some position groups already have a clear front-runner, and the early days of camp have given the coaching staff a better sense of where the roster stands as injuries and practice reps begin to separate the established names from the fringe players.
The competition is not close to finished, though, and there are still a few spots where every snap matters. One of the more interesting camp developments has been Jabbar Muhammad continuing to build his case for a place on the final roster, while Christian Braswell has yet to practice because of an injury, leaving another cornerback battle unsettled as Jacksonville keeps sorting out its defensive back room. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Salary Hierarchy Says A Lot About This Roster Build
The Jaguars payroll tells the story of how this roster has been built, and it starts up front and on the edge. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker sit near the top of the salary hierarchy, a clear sign that Jacksonville has invested heavily in pass rush as a foundation piece, while Jakobi Meyers and Cole Van Lanen round out a top five that reflects just how many different ways the front office has tried to fill out the roster around its core.
There is also a draft-history thread running through that group, which makes the contract list more than just a snapshot of spending. It points to a franchise trying to balance homegrown talent, outside additions and long-term commitments, even as the exact shape of the roster keeps evolving. For a team still defining its identity, the money says plenty about where the Jaguars believe the most important pieces need to come from. [Read more 🡒]