Jawaan Taylor signs with Chiefs: What does his loss mean for the Jaguars' offensive line?

The Jaguars will lose offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor after the former second-round pick agreed to a reported four-year $80 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs a couple of days prior to the start of the new league year. The deal will likely be signed and completed when the new league year begins on March 15 at 4 p.m. ET.

Taylor, 25, was the Jaguars' starting right tackle since he was drafted in 2019 and has started and played in every game available for the team over that span. He missed just a few snaps in 2022 but played every snap throughout his career up to that point.

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Though the Jaguars made a valiant effort to retain his services, the team evidently was unable to come to an agreement that made sense for both sides, something Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said at the NFL Combine a few weeks ago had to be a "win-win."

Now, the team will be tasked with replacing one of their core players who protected franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence over the past two years.

What was Jawaan Taylor's value to the Jaguars?

The Jaguars entered the season with some uncertainty at its right tackle position. With the arrival of then-new head coach Doug Pederson along with his staff and offensive line coach Phil Rauscher, the Jaguars offered the roster a clean slate, determined to find the best combinations to trot out onto the gridiron.

Jacksonville's offensive line had two certain starters: left tackle Cam Robinson, who the team gave a three-year deal to in the summer, and right guard Brandon Scherff, who signed with the team via free agency last year.

The remainder of the offensive line was up in the air, including the status of Taylor, who entered his fourth year with the club. During training camp, Taylor battled for the starting role with 2021 second-round pick Walker Little. Eventually, he was named the starter, and he played all 19 games (including the postseason) at right tackle.

Taylor took the role and ran with it, becoming the team's best offensive lineman in pass protection. He accounted for just 18 pressures allowed, according to Pro Football Focus, the best rate of allowed pressures among players with at least 122 true pass sets during the year.

Taylor enjoyed his best season in 2022, allowing the fewest number of sacks in a single season (five) during his four-year stay. He also allowed the fewest number of pressures (21). For reference, Taylor allowed 34 and 58 pressures in 2021 and 2020, respectively, according to PFF.

Still, while Taylor's pass-blocking output was much improved from his previous seasons with the team, he left something to be desired in the run game.

Taylor graded out as the team's worst run blocker with a grade of 39.7 in 2022. For reference, the team's best run blocker among offensive linemen on the team with at least 200 run snaps was Robinson at 57.3.

Still, Taylor's value was high. His ability to hold down the fort cannot be overstated. However, Jacksonville has had a contingency plan in place for a couple of years now.

Walker Little is slated to play much more, but where?

With the Jaguars moving on from Taylor as the team's starting right tackle, the logical conclusion would be for Little to take the reins after being selected with the 45th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Little's battle with Taylor for the opportunity to play right tackle during the summer is another reason for the connection. Still, Little has played just a few snaps at right tackle in his NFL career, playing the majority of his time at the left tackle position due to Robinson's various injuries.

In his career, Little has started eight games, including the postseason, at left tackle. He started three games at left tackle in 2022 and three during his rookie year in 2021.

Though a small sample size of 374 pass-blocking snaps in his career, Little has given up just four sacks and has allowed 23 total pressures, including 17 pressures in 2022, according to PFF.

His run blocking has been viewed positively as well, receiving a 60.0 run-blocking score from PFF, good for the best offensive lineman on the team, though on a limited snap count.

Still, Pederson wouldn't quite say whether or not Little would be the team's replacement at right tackle during the NFL Combine a few weeks ago. He suggested that there could be some movement for the young, versatile offensive lineman.

"He's got value," Pederson said of Little when asked about the team's luxury of potentially having three starting-caliber offensive tackles on the roster. "He's got value at guard, possibly. He's got value at tackle, possibly, he can play both sides. So, we've got that flexibility."

Little has not played guard much during his time in Jacksonville. He spent all of last season practicing at tackle but did take some reps at guard through practices as the season progressed and the offensive line injuries mounted. Still, it is interesting that Pederson mentioned guard unprompted when talking about the second-round tackle.

The Jaguars will also have to juggle the fact that Robinson is coming off of a season-ending knee injury. The team still is unsure of when Robinson will be available, likely putting some pressure on Little to play left tackle to start the team's offseason programs.

"With not knowing when Cam [Robinson]'s going to be ready, it does have the flexibility of having Walker Little sitting there, who can obviously fill in if need be," Pederson added.

With some uncertainty at the left guard position, Jacksonville could turn to Little, but the more likely combination will be Tyler Shatley and Ben Bartch at the position with Robinson, center Luke Fortner, Scherff and Little rounding out the group of offensive linemen.

Jaguars very likely to target OL early in draft

With Taylor departing, the Jaguars will have a hole one way or another on its offensive line. The team does not have an established swing tackle with only Coy Cronk being the likely in-house candidate.

Cronk has primarily been a practice squad player over the last two years, though, never appearing in a game. So, it's likely the Jaguars will attack the swing tackle position early in the draft.

The potential acquisition could also be viewed as a potential replacement for Robinson, who is slated to be a free agent following the 2024 season and could be a cap-casualty option following the 2023 season, saving the team $17,750,000.

There are some candidates, including one outlined in the Times-Union mock draft released last week. Syracuse tackle Matthew Bergeron is a player to watch that could fit with what Jacksonville likes at the position.

Still, Taylor's departure clearly signals the team's intention to upgrade the position somehow. They'll have to if they want to protect Lawrence.

"Do you like Trevor? We like him, so we want to keep him clean and upright and all that," Pederson said half-jokingly when asked how important it was to keep the team's offensive line fortified.

Adding offensive line depth could be the priority for Jacksonville this year because of it.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jawaan Taylor signs with Chiefs: What it means for Jacksonville Jaguars line