After wait, Walker Little showed promise as Jacksonville Jaguars rookie offensive tackle

After the new head coach is hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars, the franchise will have to make a critical decision involving its offensive line.

General manager Trent Baalke and the new head coach must determine whether fifth-year veteran Cam Robinson will remain their long-term answer at left tackle, or whether 2021 second-round draft pick Walker Little should get a chance.

Instead of allowing Robinson to hit the open market in free agency last year, the Jaguars opted to designate him with the franchise tag. Under the franchise tag, Robinson signed a year, $13.7 million contract. The Jaguars can designate the franchise tag on Robinson again, but the price to keep him around for another season would increase to $16.4 million.

With the Jaguars' projected cap space around $71 million, it wouldn't be a problem for the franchise to extend Robinson a long-term deal. But if they go that direction, it would likely result in Little having to move to right tackle instead of a backup role.

Little worked at both the left and right tackle positions at practices this season. He admitted it took some adjusting to playing right tackle at first.

''I noticed at the beginning it was definitely different for me, took a little bit, but now I feel very comfortable on the right side of the field, just as comfortable on the left and the right,'' he said. ''I (did) it all season.”

But whether he moves there permanently will likely be up to the next head coach. What Little showed in limited snaps this season that he perhaps deserves a role as a starter next season.

A good fit or not?: 5 things to know about former Texans coach Bill O'Brien

What to Know: About former Colts and Lions coach Jim Caldwell

Former Jags QB: 5 things to know about Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich

Though he had only 224 snaps, Pro Football Focus issued Little a 68.8 overall grade for the season, higher than Robinson's 67.3 grade.

Little also outscored starting left guard Andrew Norwell (67.1), second-year starting right guard Ben Bartch (62.7), starting center Brandon Linder (63.0), backup center Tyler Shatley (60.7), and starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor (60.3).

''I feel like I have it in me where I can block anyone in this league, but you have to be able to consistently do it each snap having good sets, good angles,'' Little said. ''That’s the thing I tried to work on in practice is just not letting up at all and being precise with everything I’m doing.”

Little was out of football for nearly two seasons at Stanford before he was drafted 45th overall by the Jaguars during April's NFL draft.

He opted out from playing the 2020 season for Stanford because of COVID-19 precautions. In 2019, he missed all but the first game of the 2019 season because of a left knee injury.

The missed time away from football hampered his ability to catch on quickly with the Jaguars. He was a healthy scratch for the first two games of the season. He also missed Weeks 3 and 4 due to going on the virus list. He did not play in his first game until Week 6 against the Miami Dolphins. Little got one snap but it came on the play that running back James Robinson scored on a 1-yard run that helped the Jaguars pull out a 23-20 victory, their first of the season to end a 20-game losing streak.

Two weeks after the Dolphins game, Little earned his first start against Buffalo after Cam Robinson suffered a back injury during pre-game warmups. He said he did not have a perfect performance, but he played all 61 offensive snaps and didn't give up a sack during the Jaguars' 9-6 upset victory against the Bills.

"Obviously, the Bills game was a great opportunity, but it was right in pregame warmups that I found out that I was going to be starting that one,'' Little said. "It definitely was a little bit of a shock to it, but it was a great opportunity and kind of my first chance to kind of be thrown in the fire."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars rookie Walker Little showed promise in limited snaps