Jaguars RT Anton Harrison gets unfavorable spot in 1st-Round Rookie Power Ranking

The Jacksonville Jaguars have struggled to protect Trevor Lawrence this season. While the left guard position has arguably been their weakest link, right tackle Anton Harrison has also had his fair share of struggles. This led Josh Edwards of CBS Sports to give him a pretty low spot in his latest power ranking.

Edwards ranked all 31 first-round rookies and placed Harrison at No. 21, noting that his beaten percentage of 7.7 percent is the 11th-highest in the league. Moreover, Edwards points out that Broderick Jones, the 14th overall pick, has been better in the running game, which in his eyes, is the tiebreaker.

Edwards' college, Ryan Wilson, wasn't as harsh, giving Anton Harrison a B+ at the midpoint of 2023. Wilson points out that he's done a good job of switching sides and has shown improvement in the last few weeks.

"Harrison played left tackle at Oklahoma in 2022, but he's looked right at home at right tackle for the Jaguars. He has allowed five sacks through Week 8, but three of those came in his first two games. He's been much more consistent in recent weeks for Jacksonville."

Harrison has appeared on 590 offensive snaps this season and hasn't missed a game despite the fact that he's popped up on the Injury Report a handful times. Against the San Francisco 49ers, he gave up two pressures and generally had a hard time containing Chase Young and Nick Bosa. That said, the Oklamoha product has done enough to make you think that he can eventually become a mainstay of the Jaguars' offensive trenches.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have full confidence in Anton Harrison

Even though Anton Harrison has struggled, the thought of potentially benching hasn't crossed the Jaguars' mind, and why would it? Harrison has had a bad outing but not to the point where he's been a liability. Like any other rookie, he's going to have ups and downs. While Jacksonville would want to see him turn into a Pro Bowl nod, they're aware he's facing a learning curve, so they've adjusted their expectations accordingly.

If the team's brass didn't think Harrison has made any progress, they could've easily benched him by now. The Jags already benched Ben Bartch — he was eventually released — after underperforming at left guard. Tyler Shatley was later phased out in favor of Walker Little, so it's clear that the coaching staff isn't afraid to pull a player out of the lineup. The issue is that benching Harrison could potentially have a negative effect on his development.

On top of that Harrison hasn't been nearly as bad. There have been games (Weeks 4, 6), where he's given up no pressures and shown the talent that made him a first-round pick in the draft. Can he be better? Most definitely but expecting him to be at the midpoint of his rookie season is not realistic.

Make no mistake, the Jacksonville Jaguars will need to make upgrades to the offensive line next offseason, particularly at left guard at center. However, they may have a potential building block in Anton Harrison, which is why they seem to be fine with the growing pains he's had in 2023.

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