The Jaguars’ offensive line picture for Week 1 is finally starting to sharpen, and Cole Van Lanen’s return changed a lot.
Jacksonville activated Van Lanen off the Active/PUP list this week, and head coach Liam Coen made it clear Friday that the lineman is headed for the right tackle job. That leaves Anton Harrison on the left side and gives the Jaguars a likely Week 1 tackle pairing of Harrison and Van Lanen when the Cleveland Browns come to town on Sept. 13.
Van Lanen is not expected to jump straight into first-team work when the Jaguars hold joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week. But his activation gives him three weeks to get ready for the opener, while the rest of the line can keep sorting itself out around him.
"Yeah, a lot of indy work. He'll get a ton of indy. A lot of that and not necessarily 11 on 11 yet in those settings, get him some extra work on the side," Coen said about Van Lanen after Friday's game.
"He'll do a lot with the offensive line and individual and some of that will be able to do some of walk thru settings to get more the mental reps, and then when he can't go in some of the team periods, go with the strength and conditioning staff still and continue to work on that conditioning. Obviously, I look forward to getting him in some of these team drills here soon."
From there, the rest of the projected unit is getting easier to read. Ezra Cleveland is set to start at one guard spot, Robert Hainsey is the center, and the only real question left is who wins the other guard job.
Patrick Mekari does not appear to be in the mix early, which narrows the field to Walker Little, Chuma Edoga, Wyatt Milum, Jonah Monheim, Emmanuel Pregnon, and Daniel Faalele. Faalele looks like depth unless injuries force the issue during the regular season, and Edoga also projects as a backup. Monheim has worked at both guard spots in camp, but his best fit is as the reserve center, even if he could have a shot when things are even.
That leaves Little, Pregnon, and Milum as the names to watch.
Little brings NFL guard starts and a lot of experience. Pregnon has stood out at left guard over the last few weeks and could be the long-term answer there, with Cleveland sliding over to right guard. Milum was the obvious pick earlier in camp after taking every major first-team rep at right guard, but injuries pushed him around to right tackle, his camp has been uneven, and he has missed the last few practices.
If the Jaguars want to show their hand, the final week of the preseason may do it. Van Lanen is almost certainly not playing against the Buccaneers, so whoever steps in at right tackle could offer the clearest clue yet about how Jacksonville plans to line up in Week 1.
In Other News...
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Jaguars Loss Put A Few Surprise Roster Names In Focus
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Jabbar Muhammad, listed on the second string, added six tackles in a busy showing on defense, while Ameer Abdullah topped the team in rushing yards and Michael Wortham was perfect when the ball came his way. Cam Little also handled his business, hitting all three of his field-goal tries, giving the Jaguars a few encouraging individual moments to sort through as they continue trimming the roster and deciding who is worth a closer look. [Read more 🡒]