The Jacksonville Jaguars have a lot of positives to look forward heading into the 2019 season. However, there's another wrinkle to the offseason that makes things look a little better still. It might not seem like anything crazy, but in the grand scheme of things, could be big.
According to Daniel Popper of The Athletic, offensive tackle Will Richardson is now offensive tackle and offensive guard Will Richardson.
Last week, we touched on how Will Richardson, the Jags’ fourth-round pick last year, was getting work at right guard. That experiment on the interior continued into minicamp. With Andrew Norwell sitting out with a sprained left ankle — the same leg that forced him to miss five games last year — Richardson received the first-team reps at left guard. And Marrone is liking what he’s seeing — to the point where it seems the team is viewing Richardson more as a guard than a tackle heading into 2019. Richardson didn’t play a single regular-season snap last year after injuring his knee in practice.
“He probably has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, which is good,” Marrone said. “He has come back, he has worked extremely hard and he has played well inside. He is a guy that we think can play both guard and tackle, but we think we wanted to check him out on the inside to see where he is. Honestly, he has done a really good job. We will just have to see how he does when the pads come on.”
Depth on the offensive line is one of the most sneakily important parts of an NFL team. It's hard to rely on five players to stay healthy all year. Therefore, having a great back up is important.
That being said, it's irresponsible to expect just one injury to happen at the position. Due to that, having multiple good back ups is important.
Will Richardson has apparently impressed this offseason playing at both positions. The fact that he didn't play last year (his rookie campaign) after suffering a knee injury seems to have fueled a fire inside him. That fire is being used to get Jacksonville some extra depth.
Having players that can slide along the offensive line and play multiple positions is important. That makes it much less likely that if a game occurs where multiple lineman go down, the team won't run out of players at a certain spot. Suddenly, you have a right tackle who's never played inside trying to fill-in at left guard.
Instead, Richardson gives them that flexibility that teams covet.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a lot to look forward to in 2019. Due to that, having an offensive tackle learn offensive guard as well might not be headline news. However, don't underestimate how important Will Richardson could be to the team with this newfound skill.
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