Two hours after the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Emmanuel Pregnon on April 24, it took one sentence lasting 28 words for coach Liam Coen to rationalize the decision.
“Since being in L.A. in ’22 during that tough year, we have said we’re never going to put ourselves in a position to not have depth up front,” he said.
No depth up front in the NFL equals no chance. Losing a linemen (or two or three) for a game (or two or three) is almost a given and the best teams have waves of reinforcements at the ready.
It’s why the Jaguars entered the draft not absolutely needing to add a lineman, but pounced when Pregnon fell in the third round (No. 88 overall).
Coen and general manager James Gladstone constantly have the 2022 Rams season/offensive line debacle,
when the defending Super Bowl champions ran out of options and plummeted to 5-12, at the front of their minds. Stuff happens during a season, but one shouldn’t be a dearth of available linemen.
The Jaguars benefitted last year from having extra linemen ready and their depth is already being tested this month.
Among the Plan A Offensive Line through nine training camp practices, right tackle Anton Harrison has moved to left tackle, left tackle Cole Van Lanen will be moved to right tackle upon being cleared to practice after his Jan. 4 right knee injury and right guard Patrick Mekari (back) has been held out of all team work. Plus, Pregnon, Walker Little and Chuma Edoga have been banged up.
Experimentation in camp when everybody is healthy is a luxury; experimentation in camp when multiple players are banged up is a necessity. But because of their commitment to line building/maintaining, the Jaguars feel comfortable with their options.
What happened in Los Angeles?
The 2021 Rams were fortunate along their offensive line, which combined with the acquisition of quarterback Matthew Stafford, allowed the offense to move from 22nd to seventh in scoring and a Super Bowl title.
Over 21 games, the Rams used only six starting offensive line combinations. Left guard David Edwards and right guard Austin Corbett started every game, right tackle Rob Havenstein 19 games, left tackle Andrew Whitworth 18 games and center Brian Allen 16 games.
In the regular season, the Rams allowed only 31 sacks, went 12-5 and averaged 372.1 yards (ninth) and 27.1 points (aforementioned seventh) per game.
Gladstone was the Rams’ director of scouting and Coen was Kentucky’s offensive coordinator in 2021. Coen returned to Los Angeles as the offensive coordinator in ’22 and Gladstone’s new title was director of scouting strategy.
And all hell broke loose.
Whitworth retired, leaving left tackle open.
Minus first- and second-round picks, the Rams used their initial selection on guard Logan Bruss. He didn’t play as a rookie. Their final pick was tackle AJ Arcuri, who started one game.
The Rams started a different line combination in the first — wait for it — 12 games.
The Rams used 14 combinations (14!), allowed 59 sacks, finished tied for 27th in rushing (97.7 yards), last in yards (280.5) and tied for 26th in points (18.1). The yardage and scoring rankings remain the lowest of coach Sean McVay’s tenure.
There’s more. Twelve linemen played at least 188 snaps, including nine of at least 314 snaps.
What happened?
Coen first pointed to the center position.
“We had multiple guys playing center that had some communication things that come up when you don’t play a lot of snaps,” he said.
And then …
“We were pulling multiple guys off the streets,” Coen said. “We literally had multiple players coming off the couch to come play.”
In particular, left tackle Ty Nsekhe signed on Oct. 18 and started eight games at left tackle.
It was like drinking out of a fire hose and the hose could never be turned off.
“There’s only so much you can coach when you don’t have continuity, chemistry or a plethora of options to play,” Coen said. “That’s why we’re not going to dry there (with the Jaguars).”
Depth tested last year
Upon their arrival with the Jaguars during the 2025 offseason, Coen and Gladstone emphasized adding offensive linemen. In the opening wave of free agency, they signed Mekari, Edoga and center Robert Hainsey to multi-year contracts. They drafted guard/tackle Wyatt Milum in the third round and center Jonah Monheim in the seventh round.
And, not shockingly, the Jaguars needed all of that depth.
Over 18 games last year, they used seven different starting combinations. They started three right guards and two left tackles, left guards, centers and right tackles apiece. They had the same group for Games 1-5, but then new combinations in Games 6, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 16.
Little had to play right guard at Denver in relief of Mekari and then returned to his natural left tackle spot in the playoff loss to Buffalo because of Van Lanen’s right knee injury. Before he got hurt, Van Lanen started at right tackle, right guard, left guard and left tackle.
The Jaguars needed only to look at their salary cap chart to see the 2026 resources allocated to the offensive line … and they didn’t budge. According to the industry website Over The Cap, the line represents the Nos. 5-, 7-, 10-, 13- and 14-highest cap hits. That doesn’t include Edoga ($3.9 million).
Little wasn’t traded. Edoga wasn’t cut. And then the intact line added Pregnon, who could start at guard in 2027.
Entering the Aug. 15 preseason opener at the New Orleans Saints, the Jaguars won’t be at full strength health-wise along the offensive line, but by the time Sept. 13 rolls around and they face the Cleveland Browns, Coen’s hope is he has a group that runs 9-10 strong. That will give quarterback Trevor Lawrence his best chance.
“It’s why we’re going to continue to invest in the draft and free agency up front,” Coen said. “If we don’t have our quarterback (healthy) and playing, it’s going to be a hard, tough movie to watch.”
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays (4-6 p.m. on "The Lead").
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How 2022 Los Angeles Rams impacted Jaguars' offensive line strategy
