Getting passed over with the first overall pick is something Luke Joeckel says he’ll remember “every single day,” but it isn’t the only thing he has on his plate right now.
Joeckel is also moving to right tackle for the Jaguars after playing left tackle during his career at Texas A&M. That transition got rolling this weekend at Jacksonville’s minicamp and Joeckel said that it he’s feeling more comfortable than anticipated after a couple of days in his new gig.
“It’s feeling a lot better than I thought it would,” Joeckel said, via the Associated Press. “My set felt a lot cleaner today and my first step felt a little bit faster today. It’s going to be a process, but it’s moving along pretty well.”
Head coach Gus Bradley said he thought Joeckel was “right on track” in his move to the other side of the offensive line. Offensive line coach George Yarno was more effusive with his review of Joeckel’s work thus far.
“He has excellent movement skills, great balance, he’s a very smart kid. He’s working hard. He’s going to get better fast. He’s competitive. Love what I’ve seen so far,” Yarno said. “He’s so smooth, a fluid mover. He has great, natural balance. His lower body has a lot of power in it. He has a low center of gravity. He has all those things you look for in a tackle, especially. I’m really excited to get to work with him.”
All reports from practices held in May with tryout players in the mix must be taken with a rather large grain of salt, but it’s certainly better to get a positive one when the second overall pick of the draft is involved. And it’s not like Joeckel is learning something completely new nor is it a demotion. As the Jaguars’ analytics showed, getting strong blocking from the right tackle should have a significant positive impact on the team’s passing game.
