Walker Little

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

The Jaguars handed Walker Little a C+ CVI with this three-year, $40.5M extension, making him one of the higher-paid left tackles in the league at $13.5M annually — a deal that feels like a slight overpay for a player still proving his consistency. Little has flashed solid starter ability when healthy, but his track record remains thin after missing significant time early in his career, and paying him in the upper tier of tackle money before he's established himself as a true franchise cornerstone feels premature. At 25, he's entering his prime years, which provides some upside to grow into this contract, but the $25.9M guaranteed suggests Jacksonville was bidding against itself rather than letting the market dictate his value. The front-loaded guarantee structure does give the team some flexibility to move on after two seasons if Little doesn't develop into the elite blindside protector this deal suggests they believe he can become. This feels like the Jaguars prioritizing continuity and potential over proven production, banking on Little's athleticism and youth to justify tackle money that's typically reserved for players with more established résumés.

Performance Analysis

Five seasons into his NFL career, Walker Little has not developed into the franchise left tackle the Jacksonville Jaguars envisioned when they invested a second-round pick on him back in 2021, and his performance grade reflects a player who has fallen firmly into below-average — and by some measures replacement-level — territory at one of the most premium positions on the field. The most charitable thing that can be said about his current campaign is durability: appearing in 15 games demonstrates he has stayed on the field, which matters for an offensive lineman, but availability without dependable play is a hollow credential for a starter drawing $13.5M AAV. The core problem is consistency — the kind of inconsistent play that erodes a coaching staff's confidence and, more damning, has triggered front-office action rather than patience, with Jacksonville actively shopping him and making their stance, by multiple accounts, impossible to ignore. At 27, Little is squarely in what should be the prime earning years of an offensive tackle's career, which makes the organizational dissatisfaction even more pointed — this is not a development timeline question anymore, it is a fit and production reality. The media framing surrounding him heading into 2026 is almost uniformly negative, dominated by trade speculation and the team's proactive search for alternatives rather than any performance endorsement or confidence vote from the coaching staff. For a player drafted on the promise of elite physical tools — 6-foot-7, 315 pounds — the gap between projection and production over five professional seasons is the defining story of his career, and the Jaguars' current 13-4 record and AFC playoff positioning only intensifies the urgency to upgrade a role that demands more than Little has consistently delivered.