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Should the Jaguars Pick Up Anton Harrison's 5th Year Option? · Duval Daily: A Jacksonville Jaguars Podcast

• 0:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks to Bill Jaguar's fans.
• 0:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome in to Dove All Daily.
• 0:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Presented by Jinjak.com.
• 0:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Jordan Luga.
• 0:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much for being here.
• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thursday, February 12th.
• 0:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Right now, we are talking in, Ton Harrison.
• 0:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're talking fifth year option.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jaguar's former first round pick 28th overall.
• 0:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: That can 2023.
• 0:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: He and the rest of the...
• 0:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: First round of the 2023 NFL draft, they are up for their fifth year options, heading in to this 2026 season, teams around the league have to make a decision on the fifth year option by May 1st.
• 0:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: May 1st, 2026 is the deadline for teams to pick up the fifth year option.
• 0:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: And these players are not going into their fifth year in 2026.
• 0:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're going into their fourth year.
• 0:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the rules are you have to make that.
• 0:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: Call, you have to make that decision on the fifth year option prior to the fourth year.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: Right, prior to that fourth season of crude and then you will have them available on your roster for a fixed rate.
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that final year, that fifth year that you pick up, right?
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that would be for 2027, the 2027 season for Anton Harrison and these other players.
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: So should the Jaguar's pick up Anton Harrison's fifth year option?
• 1:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: Again, they'll have till May 1st in order to do it.
• 1:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: We'll talk about it here today.
• 1:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Really appreciate y'all tuning in.
• 1:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
• 1:22
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• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Look good while doing it.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: So Anton Harrison and the his fifth year option.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's different tiers based on playing time and performance and probals and different things.
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, Anton Harrison has not made a probal, but.
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: He has earned that playing time incentive.
• 1:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: So he is a tier two offensive line, and look, the entire offensive line, it gets bucketed together, it's all one big group, which is one of those silly things.
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: We always talk about how edge players and off-ball linebackers are in the same payment group when it comes to these things, and the entire offensive line is as well, which is silly, because
• 2:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: tackles get paid so much more than everybody else but good for the jag war is not as good for ants on hairs and still at 20.497 million dollars according to over the cap.com that is a nice one-year payment no question about it for ants on hairs and if the jag war is decided to pick up that 50 option that's what he'll get in 2027.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I believe when you look at Anton Harrison's body or where he's improved every single year from a statistical standpoint, when you just watch his tape, I think that this was clearly his best year.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was actually in, by far, the best offense from a coaching and offensive line coaching.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: play calling, design, he was in the best offense, he's been in as a pro, you know, again, starting his career in 2023.
• 2:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I thought he had a really encouraging rookie here and did some really good things.
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: It looked like what he needed to really, really work on and hone his craft on was the run blocking.
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: He took steps forward in that direction in 2024, but there was some inconsistency in 2024.
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: newsflash for the Jaguars entire organization every single player on the team for the most part there was a lot of inconsistency with very few exceptions.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of those guys went and had much better seasons in 2025 including Anton Harrison who the Jaguars Liam Cohen they came in
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: And they didn't necessarily feel like at the very beginning, they were getting complete buy-in and full effort for Manton Harrison.
• 3:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: So they challenged him to bring it consistently every single day.
• 3:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: They challenged them publicly and privately to bring it every single day.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he ended up doing that.
• 3:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: They ended up getting a really, really good season out of Manton Harrison, in my opinion, and he ended up
• 4:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Massively improving as a run blocker.
• 4:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he was a plus run blocker, not like a dominant run blocker, but a plus run blocker in my opinion, and he's a great athlete.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is a player.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Jaguar's traded down, right?
• 4:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And 2023 and landed Anton Harris and that picked 28 overall.
• 4:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: I had him in 2023 as a top 12, top 10 type of prospect, and so I was really high on him because he had everything you were looking for in my opinion.
• 4:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was extremely young, but he had experience, right?
• 4:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of starting experience at left tackle at Oklahoma.
• 4:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: He had the size and length, the athleticism,
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: There was a nastiness to his game, but there was also just a fluidity and quickness to his movements, and I thought that this was a player that had future probal or at least plus starter at offensive tackle written all over him.
• 5:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Some people were not as happy about him because are not as high on him, I should say, I'm not saying in Jacksonville, but in general, because he was six foot four, it's like, oh, he's too short to be an offensive tackle,
• 5:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: That number really does not matter, as long as you have the length and the athleticism, which he has in spades and he just turned 24 years old.
• 5:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: After his third season in the NFL, he just turned 24.
• 5:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is a very young professional who, in my opinion, handled his business really well for the Jaguars after being challenged by the coaching staff last year.
• 5:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's a clear, you pick up this fifth year option prior to May 1st or on May 1st, 2026, and you have him locked in at $20.497 million for the 2027 season.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now in regards to a long-term contract extension, the Jaguars do have Colvan Lannon on the
• 6:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: per year.
• 6:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: And when you look at Colman land and contract, because you don't necessarily want to have one of the most expensive offensive lines in football, but if you are going to be paying a position a lot of money, certainly offensive tackle one of the most important positions in football makes sense.
• 6:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: So the Jaguar signed Colvin Lannan this year during the season to a three year extension $20 million per year and he's under contract through 2028.
• 6:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the Jaguars have a lot of flexibility to get out from under that contract if they want to, starting in 2027.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Jaguars, they would have a pretty big dead money capit in 2027 if they decided to move on from Colby and Landon, but they would still save $7.85 million if they decided to.
• 7:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not saying they should want to, in any way, shape or form.
• 7:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just like you have the flexibility to do these things.
• 7:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then heading into 2028, the final year,
• 7:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: of Colby and Lannon's contract.
• 7:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: If they were to cut him, they would save $17.8 million against the cap.
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, this is effectively a two-year contract that they gave Colby and Lannon, and so that could align very well with if they feel like
• 7:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, Colvin Lannon, we appreciate what he's done, but we have upgraded, we've gotten younger, maybe they go get a tackle that they feel can be a similar level player of Colvin Lannon in the draft over the next couple years, and then you have plenty of funds and cap resources to pay ants on Harrison, whatever he ends up earning.
• 7:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: I would probably like ideal situation for this, you pick up the fifth year option.
• 8:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then if Anton Harrison is attacking every day, the way you want him to, throughout the offseason program and then into training camp early on, I probably start talking extension with Anton.
• 8:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: prior to this 2026 campaign.
• 8:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, you could also wait and do it prior to the 2027 campaign.
• 8:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because again, he won't be scheduled to be a free agent if you pick up the 50th option until 2028.
• 8:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: So you can wait and do it prior to the 2027 campaign as well.
• 8:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to be in a hurry.
• 8:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just like if you get it done early, you kind of lock things up.
• 8:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: And you wouldn't get rid of the fifth-year option if you got it done early, like Trevor Lawrence still basically played under his fifth-year option even when the Jaguars picked up or extended him after his third year.
• 8:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: You're not just tearing up the fifth-year option, the new money doesn't really start until after the fifth-year option, generally speaking the way most teams write contracts, which is what I would expect the Jaguars to do in this situation.
• 9:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: If they pick up Anton Harrison's fifth-year option and then extend him prior to 2027, the new money would still start in 2028.
• 9:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the good thing about the fifth year option is if you write a new contract,
• 9:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: and you keep the fifth year option in there, basically.
• 9:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: You can still cut that capit down because let's face it.
• 9:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: A $20 million, $20.497 million capit.
• 9:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a big number for anybody, right?
• 9:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a big number, no matter what position you play, how bad, no matter how good you are.
• 9:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a big number.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: So if the Jack Wars were to extend him prior to the 2027 season, they could cut that number down in a big way.
• 9:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: and have more cap space available for the 2027 free agency period, first wave of free agency.
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: How aggressive will the Jack Wars be this free agency period?
• 10:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: They have the ability to clear a ton of cap space with restructures.
• 10:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Some of the restructures that they have available to them are basically like standard restructures that they don't even have to negotiate with the player.
• 10:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Other ones like Trevor Lawrence, if you wanted to, you know, add void years or give him a huge signing bonus or Josh Heinz Allen, that would be technically like a new contract that they would have to agree upon with the player, which there would be no reason for the player not to agree to those terms as long as you're not like taking any money away and you're just giving them a big signing bonus,
• 10:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: They have the ability to clear a ton of cap space and be extremely aggressive this off-season.
• 10:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: They also could potentially not be as aggressive this off-season.
• 10:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: My guess is there'll be somewhere in the middle.
• 10:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think there will be restructures.
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that there will be a couple players added to the mix via free agency that they feel like can make an impact, but nothing to the point where they're like signing
• 11:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: you know, position, you know, market.
• 11:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: player like market high players.
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think they're going to sign the most expensive player at a given position this offseason and all likelihood.
• 11:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I do think that the latter couple guys that they feel can make an impact for them and help take a step forward and then maybe resign a couple of their own guys, expensive guys.
• 11:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think they'll bring back several of their
• 11:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Christian Braswell is an exclusive right-free agent, I think he'll definitely be back, but players kind of like that on the cheaper end.
• 11:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're not going to really impact the cap all that much, but back to Anton Harrison to me.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: He took the challenge this past off season.
• 11:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: He ran with it.
• 11:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's an unbelievably talented, physically gifted player.
• 11:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: He has taken steps forward in every season of his career, especially in the run game.
• 12:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: He became again a positive in the run game for the
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2025, and as long as he is continuing to take steps forward and continuing to give full effort every single day, be that consistent guy, there's no reason to not start thinking about a long-term extension for him.
• 12:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: definitely picking up the 50 year option, but then if he's continuing to bring it throughout training camp thinking about that extension at some point as well, I think is absolutely should be on the table for these Jacksonville jackboards.
• 12:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me know how you're feeling about ants on Harrison in the comment section below.
• 12:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: And if you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
• 12:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all have a good one.