Big Cat Country
The Jacksonville Jaguars have reportedly fortified Trevor Lawrence’s blindside for the next three seasons, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Left tackle and part-time swiss-army knife, Cole Van Lanen (27) has appeared in 15 games for the 2025 Jaguars, making nine starts across multiple positions along the offensive line. Van Lanen has logged meaningful snaps at both guard and tackle spots this season. Originally acquired in a 2022 trade with Green Bay for a seventh-round pick by then–general manager Trent Baalke.
Without an extension, Van Lanen was set to become an unrestricted free agent this March. Instead, Jacksonville locked him up early, bumping his annual salary from just over $3 million per year to $17 million. That $17 million average annual value places Van Lanen at 28th among all offensive tackles and 16th among left tackles specifically, almost perfectly league average for the position.
On the field, Van Lanen’s production has seemed to justify the investment. Per Pro Football Focus, he has allowed just nine total pressures and zero sacks on 166 pass-blocking snaps at left tackle this season, surrendering pressure on only 5.4% of his reps. PFF currently grades him as the 15th-ranked offensive tackle overall (left or right) with an 81.0 rating, ranking him 20th in pass protection and 18th in run blocking. ESPN Analytics is even higher on his run game impact, placing him 10th among all offensive tackles in run block win rate.
As BCC’s Doug Farrar noted in mid-December ago:
Is it a coincidence that Van Lanen’s games at left tackle have aligned with a three-game stretch in which Trevor Lawrence has completed 53 of 89 passes for nine touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 123.0? Well, given that Little had allowed nine sacks and 29 total pressures in 472 pass-blocking reps, and Van Lanen has allowed no sacks and three total pressures in 161 pass-blocking reps at left tackle, it probably helps.
According to ESPN’s Mike DiRocco, the Jaguars reportedly internally discussed using the franchise tag on Van Lanen before ultimately deciding against it, as the projected tag number lands around $27 million per year. Instead, Jacksonville chose to get a long-term deal done ahead of free agency. With extensions now finalized for two players with expiring contracts—wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (three years, $60 million, $40 million guaranteed) and left tackle Cole Van Lanen—the Jaguars have handled key business early. That leaves the franchise tag available for other potential candidates, possibly including running back Travis Etienne. The RB franchise tag is projected at roughly $13.6 million, and considering the team already handed Dyami Brown a one-year, $10 million free-agent deal this offseason, paying a few million more to retain Etienne feels like a relatively easy decision if a long-term agreement can’t be reached.
Many fans have, justifiably, questioned whether this extension carries some risk. And depending on your tolerance level, the answer is yes. Three starts in four seasons before...
