By Mike Bonts
JACKSONVILLE (Florida Sports Wire) – The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Harrison became the program’s 48th first-round NFL Draft pick when he was selected No. 27 overall by the Jaguars on Thursday night in Kansas City, Mo.
“There’s a lot of consistency in his game. You love everything about his length and athleticism, how he moves, his strength, all things as Trent mentioned that will fit us,” said Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson. “We’re just excited for Anton and just getting in that offensive line room, getting around the other guys in that room, getting to work.”
He marks OU’s fifth first-round pick over the last six seasons and the first Sooner taken by Jacksonville since wide receiver Dede Westbrook in the fourth round in 2017.
From Washington, D.C., Harrison became OU’s first offensive lineman taken in the first round since tackle Lane Johnson went No. 4 overall to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. Harrison is the 10th OU offensive lineman to be drafted in the nine years Bill Bedenbaugh has served as the Sooners’ offensive line coach.
The 6-4, 315-pounder declared for the draft after three seasons in Norman. Harrison played 1,866 snaps in 34 career games and made 24 starts (23 at left tackle and one at right tackle).
He earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from the league’s head coaches and the AP in 2022 when he started all 12 regular season games (11 at left tackle) and allowed just one sack and no QB hits in 447 pass-blocking plays, according to PFF.
As a sophomore in 2021, Harrison played in all 13 contests and made 12 starts at left tackle, surrendering two sacks and one hit in 382 pass-blocking plays. He played in nine games in a reserve role during OU’s 2020 Big 12 championship season, allowing one sack in 173-pass blocking plays.
Harrison was a consensus four-star recruit out of Archbishop Carroll High School and was rated as the No. 158 prospect in the 2020 class by ESPN, No. 165 by Rivals and No. 307 by 247Sports.
He was regarded as the nation’s No. 15 offensive tackle by Rivals, No. 20 by ESPN and No. 30 by 247Sports. The Under Armour All-American was the No. 3 recruit in the Washington, D.C., area by Rivals, No. 4 by ESPN and No. 5 by 247Sports. He chose the Sooners over Boston College, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and others.
“We felt we would still get one of the three guys we were targeting. Had an opportunity to move back again. Definitely ended up with a player that was rated very high on our board, a lot of value,”said Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke. “There’s a lot of versatility, as well. We’ve got a plan for him, for sure.”
The second and third rounds of the NFL Draft will take place Friday night, while rounds four through seven will be held Saturday.
