Cole Van Lanen went from a utility player tied to the low-end RFA tender to the Jaguars’ left tackle starter who received a three-year, $51MM extension. The ascending blocker, however, suffered a knee injury in Week 18 and has been on the active/PUP list throughout training camp.
The Jaguars’ move to fill their left tackle spot does not exactly point to Van Lanen returning soon. Anton Harrison has been working as the team’s left tackle for most of camp, SI.com’s John Shipley notes. After initially slotting Walker Little at the O-line’s highest-profile spot, the Jags have had Harrison working there since before pads came on.
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Jacksonville has since listed Harrison — the team’s right tackle through three NFL seasons — as its starting LT. This would be a significant development potentially affecting a few parties up front. The Jags picked up Harrison’s fifth-year option this spring, tying him to a fully guaranteed $19.1MM in 2027. That buys a Jags regime that did not draft Harrison more evaluation time, and it is possible the Liam Coen-James Gladstone regime will be studying him at a new position come Week 1.
This will not be a foreign role to Harrison entirely, however, as most of his college experience came at left tackle. Oklahoma used the 2023 first-round pick as its LT starter for 23 games (compared to just one start on the right side). The Jags kicked Harrison to RT upon drafting him, as Cam Robinson held the LT role at the time. Jacksonville traded Robinson to Minnesota at the 2024 deadline but opted not to slide Harrison to his primary college spot, using Little there instead.
Despite Doug Pederson residing as a lame-duck HC, Jags ownership allowed then-GM Trent Baalke to extend Little late in the 2024 season. The former second-round pick signed a three-year, $40MM extension — one that features a guaranteed $11MM 2026 base salary. Baalke was fired weeks later. Van Lanen is tied to guaranteed money through the 2027 season, creating an interesting situation on the Jacksonville front.
An Urban Meyer draftee, Little has played 47 career snaps at RT, per Pro Football Focus, compared to 2,199 at LT. Harrison has played only 21 NFL snaps at RT. Little opened last season as the Jags’ LT starter but saw Van Lanen take over during the team’s torrid stretch-run showing en route to an AFC South title. Little worked as the Jags’ primary right guard over the season’s final three games. The team, however, has mid-priced regulars Ezra Cleveland and Patrick Mekari at guard; it also has two recent third-rounders — Wyatt Milum (2024) and Emmanuel Pregnon (2026) — at the position. Little has also missed time recently due to injury.
Van Lanen would miss the first four games of the season if he shifts to the reserve/PUP list at this month’s roster-setting deadline. Harrison would also follow some other 2020s first-rounders by making a move to left tackle this year. The Lions are transitioning Penei Sewell to LT, while the Packers will have Jordan Morgan replace Rasheed Walker there. Moving parts remain on Jacksonville’s O-line, creating some intrigue as the preseason nears.
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