The Jaguars' Week 1 Offensive Line Is Finally Coming Into Focus

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When it comes to the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive line, things are starting to come together.

The Jaguars got big news this week when starting offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen was activated off the Active/PUP list, and now it is starting to become clearer and clearer who is set to start for the unit when the Cleveland Browns visit for Week 1 on Sept. 13.

Jaguars' Starting OL Comes Into Focus

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen was asked Friday if Van Lanen is going to take the right tackle spot upon his return, and the Jaguars' leader confirmed this to be the case. That means we will continue to see Anton Harrison at left tackle, with a likely Week 1 tackle duo being Harrison on the left side and Van Lanen on the right.

Van Lanen should not be expected to get right back into the swing of things and take first-team reps when the Jaguars hold joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week. But having him now on the active roster means he will have three weeks to get ready for Week 1, and the offensive line can now prepare for his return after some moving pieces elsewhere.

"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."

Working from there, it is becoming a good bit easier to figure out what the Week 1 offensive line might look like against the Cleveland Browns and Jared Verse. Harrison and Van Lanen take two spots, Ezra Cleveland is going to start at one of the guard spots, and Robert Hainsey will clearly start at center. That really just leaves one guard spot left up in the air.

There are a few obvious candidates for the Jaguars to start at the other guard spot. Patrick Mekari is clearly not going to be a factor at the position early on, which means the choices for the guard spot would come down to these players: Walker Little, Chuma Edoga, Wyatt Milum, Jonah Monheim, Emmanuel Pregnon, and new Jaguars offensive lineman Daniel Faalele.

liam coe — Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen coaches from the sideline during the second quarter at EverBank Stadium in the second preseason game on Friday night, August 21, 2026 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Faalele is clearly not going to start for the Jaguars unless injuries hit during the regular-season. They gave up a sixth-round pick for him, yes, but they have not been afraid to point out that he is depth. I do not think he starts Week 1 when the Jaguars have so many other options. Edoga is also almost positively going to be a backup offensive lineman, so we can eliminate him as well.

Monheim has taken reps at both guard spots in training camp but he is ideally the backup center. I think he could have a chance if all things are equal, but he isn't who I would bet on. That leaves the three players I think the Jaguars will have to decide between: Little, Pregnon, and Milum.

There are a few different arguments to make. Little has started games at guard in the NFL and has plenty of experience overall, while the Jaguars have seen Pregnon really impress at left guard over the last few weeks. Pregnon could be seen as the left guard of the future so the Jaguars just let him take the job off the rip, moving Cleveland to right guard full-time.

Jacksonville Jaguars guard Emmanuel Pregnon (75) runs a drill before the start of the game against the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium in the second preseason game on Friday night, August 21, 2026 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

If this conversation was happening at the start of training camp, Milum would have been the obvious answer. He took every key first-team rep at right guard before injuries forced him to split time at right tackle earlier in camp, but he was having a so-so camp and has missed the last few practices. He will need a big week to throw his hat into the ring.

What the Jaguars show us over the course of the final week of the preseason could give us the best clue. Van Lanen will almost positively not be on the field against the Buccaneers, which means the Jaguars could give us their early answer at guard depending on who fills in at right tackle.

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