The Jaguars are getting to a point in camp where the offensive line is starting to look less like a patchwork fix and more like an actual plan.
That matters with just 11 days left before Jacksonville opens against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. A few weeks ago, injuries had the unit in a rough spot. Now, the picture is getting clearer, and the biggest names and biggest decisions are starting to settle into place.
At tackle, the direction is pretty obvious. Anton Harrison has spent most of training camp on the left side, the spot he played at Oklahoma before becoming a first-round pick, and Jacksonville appears ready to make that move stick. All 48 of his NFL starts have come at right tackle, but the Jaguars are treating the switch back to left tackle as the natural fit.
“I think that he is naturally someone who fits the bill for the left tackle spot, and I think he would tell you that as well. It's where he is most comfortable naturally,” Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said on Tuesday.
“I don't think anybody would say that they're concerned or have some sense of questioning whether or not he can perform at a high level there or any different than he did at right tackle.
The other side is tied to Cole Van Lanen, who was activated off the Active/PUP list near the end of camp and is working back into playing shape. Liam Coen said Wednesday he is “hopeful” for Van Lanen’s status in Week 1, and the expectation is that he would take over at right tackle.
“Cole, on the other hand, says something really similar. Look, I can do either.
Naturally, I feel best suited at right tackle, but from Cole's perspective, he can play any position across the offensive line regardless of what side it's on,” Gladstone said. “I think it's certainly a new take, but one that we feel really strongly about heading into this season.”
If Van Lanen can’t go in the opener, Jacksonville does have options. The Jaguars kept nine offensive linemen on the active roster, and Walker Little looks like the most logical fill-in at right tackle if Van Lanen misses regular-season time. The real answer won’t come until next week, when the Jaguars get into game week and Van Lanen’s practice workload tells the story.
Left guard is where things get especially interesting.
Jacksonville opened camp with Ezra Cleveland there, the same spot he has handled since the Jaguars traded for him at the 2023 trade deadline. But injuries forced a shake-up, and the Jaguars eventually rolled with Cleveland on the right side and rookie Emmanuel Pregnon on the left.
Pregnon is in line to be the only rookie starting on offense this year, unless Nate Boerkircher is counted as a starter in two-tight end sets. He began camp as the backup at left guard, but once he got first-team reps, he made the most of them and kept building momentum.
“I think he's in a really good spot. He has earned a lot of trust, a lot of equity from both teammates and coaches over the course of the offseason and training camp,” Gladstone said on Tuesday.
“It was really down the back stretch of training camp that you started to see his superpowers show up and his flaws begin to diminish. I think he really settled in and has put himself in a position to really help our team right off the bat.”
The last piece is the swing tackle role, and that one depends on Van Lanen’s availability. If he returns in time, Little becomes the swing tackle because of his experience on both sides. If Van Lanen is not ready for Week 1, though, Coen said Wyatt Milum would handle that job.
Milum began camp as the starting right guard while Patrick Mekari was injured, but he also logged plenty of work at right tackle. He played tackle in college, too.
“He got a ton of reps at tackle this summer-unfortunately, in some ways, right? He was competing at guard, but it gave him great experience. I mean, the whole mock game, that scrimmage, he had to play tackle, and I thought he did a nice job,” Coen said.
Cleveland has also worked at tackle in practice, and backup Daniel Faalele has some tackle experience as well.
“Daniel [OL Daniel Faalele], obviously, can swing inside for us, and I think in a pinch, go out to right tackle if we really needed him to. Ezra [OL Ezra Cleveland] can pop out to tackle if we really needed him to, which he did this summer as well. So, see what happens.”
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