A little over a month ago, Jacksonville Jaguars rookie right tackle Anton Harrison described a tough day against the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones as his “welcome to the NFL” moment.
Five games later, Harrison is settling in as a reliable pass protector.
“I feel like I’ve been getting better every week,” Harrison said Wednesday. “I’ve just been trying to build on the performance I put on the field in the last [game]. I come in every Monday with the mindset to restart, reset, and get better. I feel like I’ve been doing pretty good at that.”
Harrison, 21, was credited with allowing three sacks and five pressures in the Jaguars’ first two games, per Pro Football Focus. He’s allowed only one sack and five pressures in the five games since.
“It’s fun to watch Anton get better every week,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “He’s been playing really, really good ball and it’s exciting to watch him just keep getting better.”
A Week 8 road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers may be Harrison’s toughest test, though. On the opposite of the line of scrimmage will be five-time Pro Bowler T.J. Watt, who almost exclusively rushes off the right side of the offensive line.
“He’s a great player, one of the best to do it,” Harrison said of Watt. “It’s really just about coming in, studying, studying him, studying their defense, and just coming up with a game plan and knowing what I need to do to stop him, to stop their defense. That’s the main thing and then it’s just being confident in myself to do it.”
Will Harrison be on his own against Watt? Probably not. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson was asked how often his team can afford to block Watt with a one-on-one matchup.
“Never,” Pederson said. “You have to understand that this is a good player, a great player. You give him the respect that he is due, he’s earned that. You have to spend some resources in that direction.”
