The Green Bay Packers are whittling down their roster to 80 players before Tuesday's deadline and are wheeling and dealing to do so. As ESPN reports, the club has traded offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a seventh-round draft pick.
Van Lanen is a former sixth-round draft choice (No. 214 overall) of the Packers in the 2021 NFL Draft. Not only did he play his college ball at Wisconsin, but the 24-year-old was a true homegrown prospect as a Green Bay native. While his NFL career may have started in his backyard, he'll now be heading down to the AFC South to join an up-and-coming Jaguars team.
Below, we'll look to grade this deal for both sides.
Packers: C+
This is hardly to the level of some of the more seismic moves the Packers have made this offseason, like trading Davante Adams or extending Aaron Rodgers. Still, it's a savvy move by the organization to gain an asset for a player who it was likely going to cut either now or when it carves down to get to the 53-man roster to begin the season. After all, the Packers did release Van Lanen last summer as part of their final roster cuts, and he spent most of the year on the practice squad.
The draft selection coming back to Green Bay isn't anything significant. With Van Lanen being a former sixth-round pick and not making much of an impact while in the NFL over his rookie year, the Packers were probably just looking at a comparable pick making its way to Lambeau Field.
Jaguars: C
This is a low-risk move for the Jaguars. The only reason they are just a tick below the Packers in this grade is simply due to the unknown upside of the late-round pick rather than the more known commodity in Van Lanen.
Still, he's a young, 6-foot-4, 305-pound lineman who could be a developmental depth piece for an offensive line that's tasked with protecting Trevor Lawrence. Van Lanen only suited up in one game last season (Week 16 vs. Vikings) and played just one offensive snap, so this is still a very green player. He does provide a bit of versatility, however, as the Packers listed him as both a tackle and guard, and he was voted first-team All-Big Ten during his final season at Wisconsin while playing left tackle.
Given his build and potential versatility, giving up a seventh-rounder to take a flier on Van Lanen isn't the worst idea.
