Jaguars May Have Stumbled Into Perfect Playoff Lineup

The Jacksonville Jaguars are 9-4. That would have been impossible to believe this time last year, but within one season, this team has gone from 3-10 in their first 13 games to the AFC South leader. It's not by accident, though. This franchise made meaningful changes this past offseason to get to where they are now.

Of course, the Jaguars are ahead of schedule. When they initially revamped the staff with Head Coach Liam Coen, Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski, Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile, and General Manager James Gladstone, they were expecting a rebuild. Sure, this team had some encouraging talent already in place, but no one expected them to start off this new era like this.

Jacksonville Jaguars, NFL, Arizona Cardinals, Trevor Lawrence — Nov 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) throws a pass as offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen (70) blocks Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins (25) at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Jaguars continue to make tweaks

This new administration knew that they'd have to make big changes if they wanted the Jacksonville Jaguars to return to playing meaningful football in the winter. They did exactly that in the offseason. The Jags didn't stop at front office changes; they also brought in a ton of talent to help lead them into the next era.

General Manager James Gladstone and the rest of the staff weren't satisfied with just the draft and free agency, though. This organization has already made several trades to improve upon the roster. This organization isn't just adding talent with outside additions, though. They're also maximizing the pieces they already had in-house. Look no further than Cole Van Lanen, who stepped up as the Jaguars' new starting left tackle with Walker Little sidelined. Head Coach Liam Coen believes that Van Lanen has earned a permanent spot in the starting lineup:

Cole Van Lanen has played LG/RT/RG/LT for the Jaguars all over the last month. Not sure I have ever seen that. Here he is vs. Jeffrey Simmons pic.twitter.com/ypFzuNH2hp
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) December 1, 2025

"I think so... He's played enough really good football for us. We've got a great situation right now where you've got depth at multiple positions of people that have had to play for us a lot. This shows up in multiple positions all throughout the team.

You can point to the defensive side of that for things, receiver position, a lot of different positions that guys have been fortunate enough to step up, play well, help lead us to get to where we are right now. And the message in the locker room is, ‘Hey guys, there's a lot of guys that are coming back right now, and for us to continue to go where we want to go, we’ve got to use that as an edge,’ and that depth and experience that we've gotten has to be collective and having a team first mindset about everything we do.”

Van Lanen has played in multiple different spots for the Jaguars this year, but he had arguably his best game at left tackle versus the Colts, when he earned a season-high 82.1 pass-block grade from Pro Football Focus. Coincidentally, Walker Little has been the biggest question mark along Jacksonville's offensive line. The Jaguars may have stumbled into something that could help them make a legitimate playoff run.

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