When the Jacksonville Jaguars lost left tackle Anton Harrison for the season, concerns arose about their ability to protect Trevor Lawrence. However, Walker Little has effectively squashed them since he became No. 16's blindside protector.
This came as a bit of a surprise because, at the time, there were doubts that Little could replace Harrison because he had been benched in 2025. However, he's risen to the challenge and has been one big reason Lawrence is playing at an MVP level.
Walker Little has come through for the Jaguars this season
Since taking over at left tackle this season, Walker Little has allowed a 6.8 percent pressure rate, a massive improvement from his 13.2 percent last year. On top of that, he's been arguably Jacksonville's best offensive lineman.
In his first start this season, he didn't surrender a single sack and only allowed two total pressures against the Houston Texans. At the time, there was a bit of skepticism around his performance because neither team could get after the quarterback. However, No. 72 has shown that it wasn't an outlier, surrendering no pressures and no sacks in the blowout win against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 8. Having said that, nobody would have blamed you if you had doubts about him.
A second-round pick of the Jags in 2021, Little flashed early in his career and became the starter at left tackle when Cam Robinson was traded to the Minnesota Vikings. His first full season as Trevor Lawrence' blindside protector came in 2025, though, and he struggled mightily.
Little was so underwhelming that he was benched in favor of Cole Van Lanen late in 2025. His benching led to speculation about his future in Duval and made him a trade candidate in the offseason. However, the Jags chose to keep the Stanford Cardinal as insurance while Van Lanen recovered from a knee injury he sustained late the 2025 season. The decision paid off, as he's managed to hold the fort during Harrison's absence.
Given that Harrison will miss the remainder of the year, Little will continue to have a golden chance to boost his stock.
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The Jaguars may want to keep Walker Little beyond 2026
Walker Little signed a $40.5 million extension in 2024. Because the Jaguars could free up as much as $10 million in space, he was routinely seen as a potential cap casualty. The team could still release him in 2027 and create a substantial amount of cap space. But the way he's been playing, the Houston, Texas native could stick around.
This becomes an even more realistic scenario when you take into account that Anton Harrison will spend the offseason recovering from the knee injury. The Jaguars may want to hold onto Little once again as insurance at both tackle spots. And if Harrison is back for the start of the 2027 season, maybe they could move Little inside.
Either way, Walker Little will give Jaguars a good problem to have next offseason with the way he's playing, and he'll have a chance to boost his stock once again against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football.
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