Cole Van Lanen
Jacksonville JaguarsOVERPAIDModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 12 games
Draft & College
He went about where consensus had him.
Comps
STM Take
First STTM ranking at tier 3 (#24) in his fifth NFL season is the rare 6th-round developmental success story. The 2025 sample was almost certainly injury-replacement-driven; Jacksonville's tackle rotation cycled through multiple starters across the year. At 28 with the breakout finally arriving, the 2026 question is whether this is a real new baseline or whether the role compresses when the tackle starters return.
Van Lanen came out of Wisconsin as Green Bay's 6th-round pick (214th overall) in 2021 after starting 25 games at left tackle for the Badgers. He spent his first two NFL seasons on Green Bay's practice squad, then signed with Jacksonville in 2023 as veteran swing-tackle depth. He earned meaningful starter snaps in 2025 when Jacksonville's tackle injuries hit, producing the tier 3 (#24) finish that is his first STTM ranking after five NFL seasons.
Strengths
- First STTM ranking at tier 3 (#24) after five NFL seasons is the rare late-career breakthrough for a 6th-round Wisconsin pick. Career-long survival on NFL rosters confirms baseline technique.
- Wisconsin starter pedigree (25 college starts at LT) plus pass-protection technique that transferred from the Badgers' run-heavy scheme to an NFL pass-pro role.
Concerns
- Four prior NFL seasons without an STTM ranking shows the 2025 finish is built on a small starter-snap sample, not a sustained track record.
- Jacksonville's tackle room is rebuilding around younger draft picks; the 2026 role for a 28-year-old 6th-round vet likely compresses back to swing-tackle backup.
What to watch: Whether Jacksonville retains Van Lanen as a primary 2026 starter or whether the role compresses to swing-tackle backup duty.