There were several intriguing developments in the mock game theJacksonville Jaguars held ahead of the preseason. One of them was that Anton Harrison lined up at left tackle. This is relevant because the 2023 first-round selection has mostly played on the right side during his stint with the Jags. In the aftermath, team announcer Frank Frangie shared a compelling theory for the move.
Frangie made an appearance on 1010XL and said that the team wants to prep Harrison in case starting left tackle Walker Little misses time at any point in 2025.
"I think they're experimenting," Frangie said on Duval Rundown when asked why he thinks Harrison got reps at left tackle (10:00 mark). "I think they wanted to see, okay. And I do think Cole van Lanen, who's hurt with the shoulder, I think it is, could be back by the start of the regular season, has every chance to be the swing tackle. I think there's a lot of conversation about that. But whether it's Cole van Lanen or Fred Johnson, whoever your swing tackle is, if you've decided, okay, that swing tackle needs to be a right tackle, okay, so when he's in the game, he's better at right tackle."
Frangie continued, "That means, if Anton Harrison's the starter and gets hurt, no problem, he's out. You put in the swing tackle, right tackle. What if Walker Little gets hurt? If you're convinced that the best lineup he's in have is swing tackle, either Van Lanen or Fred at right tackle, then you gotta figure out what you go into left tackle. I don't think that's what that was. I think that was, let's experiment in the event that Walker Little twisted an ankle, what are we going to do?"
"Well, I don't know this, but I'm just taking this from what I saw Friday night. We've now decided that if Walker Little twisted an ankle, the second-best tackle on the football field is Anton Harrison. Let's go ahead and get him some reps there and get the swing tackle reps at right tackle. That's what I took out of it. I don't know that that's where they are, but that would be my guess from what we saw."
All things considered, Frangie's theory makes sense, especially when you take into account that Harrison mostly played left tackle at Oklahoma. While he's primarily lined up on the right edge in the NFL, he could more than hold his own if he moved to the opposite side.
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Anton Harrison gives the Jaguars flexibility in case they suffer injuries
Following the mock game, head coach Liam Coen said that the Jaguars must figure out who can be the swing tackle in light of Cole Van Lanen's shoulder injury. Chuma Edoga could be an option, as he split first-team reps with Anton Harrison at mandatory camp. However, he's currently filling in for Patrick Mekari at right guard. That might've led the coaching staff to give Fred Johnson, who mostly lines up at left tackle, a look on the right side.
Once Van Lanen is back in the fold, he'll most likely get the nod to be the swing tackle. That said, injuries can strike at the most inconvenient time, so the best thing the Jaguars can do is to prepare and be ready. Trying different combinations across the offensive trenches will certainly help.