Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 underrated moves in 2021 offseason

2. The Jacksonville Jaguars might’ve gotten a steal in Walker Little.

Heading into 2021’s draft, several mocks projected the Jaguars to use their second-first round pick, the 25th overall, on Texas offensive tackle Sam Cosmi. Instead, they took Clemson running back Travis Etienne and waited until the second round to take Stanford offensive tackle Walker Little with the 45th overall selection.

In hindsight, the Jags made a sound decision. E-T-N will give the team a dynamic weapon on offense while Little has the potential to develop into a solid starting offensive tackle. The team’s brass still had the chance to draft Cosmi and even Dillon Radunz with the 45th overall pick, so why did they opt for the former Cardinal? After all, he hasn’t played football since 2019.

The answer is simple. Little had an outstanding sophomore campaign in 2018 and could have been a top pick after the 2019 season if he hadn’t torn his ACL. He then opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused him to slide to the second round.

So far, the Jaguars’ brass is pleased with Little. Head coach Urban Meyer told the media the rookie offensive tackle is 20 percent body fat and described his footwork as great. Moreover, he thinks that the Texas native would have been a first-round pick if he hadn’t injured his knee in 2019.

Offensive line coach George Warhop also praised the 2018 First-Team All-Pac 12 selection in a sitdown with the local media. The veteran coach said that Little was as prepared or more prepared than any first or second-round pick player he’s ever coached.

If Little can adjust to the NFL, it will be a matter of time before he joins the Jaguars’ starting lineup.