Jaguars voices emphatically shut out idea that prominent starter will be usurped

One storyline that's been brewing the past few months is that the Jacksonville Jaguars could make Walker Little battle Fred Johnson for the starting job at left tackle. At first, the idea makes sense, as competition makes players better. On the other hand, Johnson has been a backup throughout most of his career. Couple that with the fact that he signed a modest contract in free agency, and he may ultimately not be a threat to Little. A pair of beat writers appear to agree with that.

Mia O'Brien and Hays Carlyon of 1010 XL took a look at the potential training camp battle for the left tackle job, and neither thinks Johnson is a realistic option to protect Trevor Lawrence's blind side.

"This notion that Fred Johnson is going to usurp Walker Little, that Chuma Egoba is going to push Walker Little, yes, push, but usurp? I mean, just try to say that out loud, say that Fred Johnson is going to start over Walker Little, and try to rationalize that in your brain," O'Brien said. "Because to me, you look at the numbers, you look at what the behind the scenes, what we've heard about the work ethic and everything else, it doesn't make sense to me. And I don't know where this negativity towards him continues to come from."

Carlyon, on the other hand, believes that the past regime didn't truly know what to do with Little.

"Yeah, I'm not the biggest Walker Little fan, but I understand what you're saying. You know, he's certainly been dealt a bad hand of cards by the previous administration. They've never figured out where to play him. They certainly had a massive loyalty to a player in Cam Robinson that never really paid any dividends to them. For that loyalty, Cam Robinson was probably here two years longer than he should have been. So I get all that, I wish Walker Little had a little bit more edge to him, and maybe that'll grow", Carlyon said.

"I mean, maybe that'll start to flourish as he becomes, again, a veteran and on a second contract, and in somebody now that looks around the offensive line room and is like, wow, I'm one of the elder statesmen now in terms of Jaguars tenure, so maybe we see a change. I agree with you on the Fred Johnson thing, the reason it doesn't make sense to me. And again, you're I'm kind of going down the same well as they went down with the Cam Robinson contract of well, of course, he's going to start for us. We're paying him 17 million a year."

For context, Little got a three-year deal worth $45 million in 2024. Meanwhile, Johnson inked a one-year, $1.08 million contract in March.

The Jaguars probably won't hand Walker Little the starting job, but Fred Johnson shouldn't be a threat

Walker Little has never had to earn the starting job. In fact, he was only thrust into action full-time after the Jacksonville Jaguars traded Cam Robinson in the middle of 2024. Having said that, the 2021 second-round pick is far from a slouch. Whenever he's been given a chance to play, he's come through.

On the other hand, Johnson played well when he filled in for Jordan Mailata during the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl run last year. However, there's a difference between faring well as a fill-in starter and being able to hold the job full-time. As a matter of fact, he deal he got proves that he's not much more than a backup. A pretty good backup, but a backup nonetheless.

Of course, there's a new regime in place, one that will want several players to earn their jobs. Having said that, Walker Little has played well enough in the past to make you think that he'll start at left tackle, whether he has to fend Fred Johnson off or not.

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