Cole
Van Lanen.
Cole
Van Lanen.
Wisconsin· 6'4"· 305 lb· 5.11s 40
"A 6'4", 305-pound Wisconsin left tackle with 20 starts and a 9.29 RAS pro day — a Day 3 developmental swing tackle projection where clean feet and Big Ten pedigree fought below-average arm length and length-limited pass sets."Pre-draft read
He aligns as a zone-scheme interior lineman, winning with his feet, mobility, and reach-blocking angles rather than relying on raw length. In pass protection, he employs a compact kick slide to achieve depth on time, mirroring linear speed rushers into the pocket with functional balance. His light feet, demonstrated by a 7.34 three-cone and 4.64 shuttle, help him maintain position.
His best run-game reps occur on outside zone and pin-and-pull concepts, where he easily reaches three-techniques and climbs to the second level. Drive blocks and short-yardage angle finishes are less consistent due to average leverage for his height. He is trusted with line calls and stunt pickups, showcasing communication skills developed at Wisconsin.
The ideal fit for Van Lanen is a wide-zone running scheme that prioritizes athletic, rangy offensive linemen who can execute reach blocks and get to the second level.
Van Lanen projects as a depth interior lineman in Year 1 with the ceiling to develop into a starting guard in a zone-heavy scheme due to his athletic profile and movement skills.
Van Lanen would struggle in a man-gap or power running scheme that demands consistent drive blocking and anchor against bigger interior defenders, as his run-blocking finishes and ability to hold up against power are less consistent.
His high RAS and collegiate experience in a pro-style system make him a high-upside developmental interior lineman, provided he lands in a zone-blocking scheme that can mitigate his length limitations against power.
One-on-one with Cole Van Lanen ahead of 2021 NFL Draft
Pre-draft sit-down covering his Wisconsin career, the projected move inside to guard and the pro-day testing that spiked his stock.
The Packers Draft Cole Van Lanen — Reaction & Breakdown
Draft-night breakdown of the Green Bay pick with Wisconsin college film and an OL scheme-fit projection under Matt LaFleur.
Cole Van Lanen on Moving Around the Line — The O-Zone Podcast
Team podcast where Van Lanen walks through his interior/tackle versatility in Jacksonville and the transition from Wisconsin left tackle to NFL guard.
He projects as a versatile interior lineman, with the athletic tools to thrive in a zone-heavy scheme. Teams seeking a mobile, high-RAS offensive lineman capable of executing reach blocks and climbing to the second level would value his skill set. His transition from tackle to guard addresses some length concerns.
Van Lanen spent four years at Wisconsin, making 20 career starts primarily at left tackle against Big Ten competition. This exposure provided a significant volume of high-quality tape and familiarity with pro-style protection calls. Despite his tackle experience, evaluators largely projected him inside to guard due to his arm length.
Pre-draft consensus placed him in the fifth-to-seventh-round range, acknowledging his athletic upside while noting the necessity of an interior position switch. The Green Bay Packers drafted him 214th overall, a pick that aligned with their scheme and organizational philosophy regarding Wisconsin linemen.
- 01
Zone Scheme Fit
He aligns as a zone-scheme interior lineman, winning with his feet, mobility, and reach-blocking angles, not raw length.
- 02
Pass Protection
He employs a compact kick slide to achieve depth on time, mirroring linear speed rushers into the pocket with functional balance.
- 03
Mobility & Footwork
His light feet, demonstrated by a 7.34 three-cone and 4.64 shuttle, help him maintain position against rushers.
- 04
Run Game Performance On Zone
His best run-game reps occur on outside zone and pin-and-pull, easily reaching 3-techniques and climbing to the second level.
- 05
Mental Processing
He is trusted with line calls and stunt pickups in protection, showcasing communication skills developed at Wisconsin.
- 01
Drive Block Inconsistency
Drive blocks and short-yardage angle finishes are less consistent due to his average leverage for his height.
- 02
Arm Length Limitation
His transition from tackle to guard addresses some length concerns that made him project poorly outside.
- 03
Inconsistent Anchor
Weak anchor against powerful bull rushers, often ceding ground when his hands land late or high in protection.
- 04
Length Compensation
Compensating for length limitations, his pass sets against pure speed rushers must be flawless to prevent access.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.11sp50
- Vertical
- 30inp50
- Broad jump
- 107inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.34sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.64sp50
- Bench
- 22repp50
| Yr | Team | G |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Wisconsin | 14 |
| 2018 | Wisconsin | 13 |
| 2019 | Wisconsin | 13 |
| 2020 | Wisconsin | 5 |
| Career | — | 45 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Big Ten center-guard-tackle Swiss-army developmental Day 2/3 body who moved around the interior line and rewarded a zone-heavy offense with versatility and eventual starter-level snaps.
Wisconsin OL who came out with athletic testing questions solved and eventually became a durable, scheme-fit starter for a zone-based offense — the best-case Wisconsin-pedigree outcome Van Lanen was drafted to chase.
Another Wisconsin interior lineman with clean athletic testing whose length and anchor limitations kept him rotational without carving out a permanent starting role in the NFL.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
**Pre-draft context.** Cole Van Lanen arrived in the 2021 cycle as a Wisconsin-bred, Wisconsin-groomed left tackle: a four-year Badger who worked his way from redshirt into a full-time starter role, logging 20 career starts primarily at left tackle including a strong pandemic-shortened 2020. At 6'4" and 305 pounds he was a below-threshold tackle by pure length standards, but his pro day (5.11 forty, 30" vertical, 107" broad, 7.34 three-cone, 4.64 shuttle, 22 bench) produced a 9.29 RAS that flagged him as one of the most athletic interior/tackle hybrids in the class. The board consensus placed him in the fifth-to-seventh-round tier: evaluators liked the Wisconsin development pedigree, the zone-scheme fit and the mobility, but almost every report projected him inside to guard at the NFL level because of length concerns and the size of the leap from Big Ten speed to NFL edge benders.
**NFL fit — Green Bay Packers.** Green Bay picked him at #214, an on-brand pick given the Packers' history with Wisconsin linemen and their zone-heavy run scheme. He spent 2021 largely inactive/practice squad behind the David Bakhtiari–Elgton Jenkins core, then was traded to Jacksonville in 2022, where the Jaguars gradually developed him into a versatile interior/tackle swing piece. By 2023–2024 he was appearing in significant snap counts at guard and as a swing tackle, and Jacksonville eventually rewarded him with a multi-year extension as a valued rotational/starting-caliber interior lineman under their revamped offensive line development.
**Retrospective.** The pick reads better in hindsight than it did the night of the draft — Van Lanen has outlived the Day 3 expectations by moving inside as projected, tapping into the athletic profile that RAS 9.29 flagged, and turning into a durable, scheme-fit contributor. He is not a franchise piece, but for a sixth-round tackle who profiled as a guard, sticking in the league for five-plus years with a meaningful contract is a clear hit at that pick slot.