Van Lanen had started the previous two games at right tackle for starter Anton Harrison, having started a Week 10 loss to the Houston Texans at left guard for starter Ezra Cleveland. He started a Week 9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at tackle in the Jaguars’ “big” package.
“That is not easy to go and do for anybody,” Coen said. “He goes and does it at arguably one of the hardest positions to play in the NFL, which is offensive line.”
Van Lanen, originally a sixth-round selection by Green Bay in the 2021 NFL Draft, spent his rookie season playing multiple positions on the Packers’ practice squad. He originally played guard with the Jaguars before moving to tackle.
“With this new staff, that was something I harped: ‘No matter what it takes to see the field, I’ll do whatever it takes for this team, if that’s inside, outside, whatever that takes,”’ he said. “It’s kind of just evolved into that.
“I take a lot of pride in it and it is challenging, but at the same time I’ve had reps in all these positions in the past and at the end of the day, it’s playing football.”
Little, Cleveland, center Robert Hainsey, Mekari and Harrison formed the Jaguars’ starting line in each of the first five games and seven of the first eight. That five hasn’t started together in any of the last four games.
“It shows a lot about our room,” Van Lanen said. “We do have a lot of guys that can play a lot of spots. That just ultimately really helps our group a lot. And we’re just going to keep pushing, doing our thing and continue to be a tough group and we’ve just got to keep working every week to be better.”
Said Lawrence, “It’s impressive. Obviously, it’s a unit that’s done a great job all season, especially with the circumstances of getting different guys banged up and maybe miss a game. Those guys fight their tails off.”