NFL Draft 2021: OL Cole Van Lanen scouting report

Cole Van Lanen was the first big recruit that Paul Chryst was able to land as the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. Van Lanen was a 4-star recruit out of Bay Port High School in Green Bay.

After redshirting in 2016 and not playing much in 2017, he split time at left tackle in 2018 with Jon Dietzen, and then was the sole starter at left tackle in 2019 and in 2020. Van Lanen was listed as first team all-Big Ten by the coaches in 2020 and second team by the media.

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 305 pounds

40-yard dash: 5.01 seconds

Vertical jump: 30” inches

Broad jump: 107” (8’11”)

Short shuttle: N/A

Three-cone drill: N/A

Bench press: 22 reps

*All testing numbers are from the Wisconsin Pro Day held on March 10th.

Strengths: Van Lanen will come into the league as a plus run blocker. He fires off of the ball well and does a good job displacing his man off of the line of scrimmage. Good athlete for the position. He’s started two plus seasons for Wisconsin, so he’s battle tested.

Weaknesses: Has struggled at times in pass protection. Despite his athleticism, struggles with speed rushers. Doesn’t play quite as nasty as his pedigree would indicate.

Summary: Van Lanen was a solid starting left tackle for Wisconsin over the past two and a half years. He may end up moving inside to guard at the next level, where he’d have a better chance to succeed. Likely a swing or reserve lineman to begin his career, but could eventually become a starter for a zone team.

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Ideal Scheme Fit: Run-first offense that utilizes both zone and gap concepts in order to allow Van Lanen to succeed both with athleticism as well as in short areas as a guard.

Projected Round: Round 5-7