Packers select Badgers OT Cole Van Lanen with 214th pick of 2021 NFL Draft

After six selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers had three defensive players and three individuals on offense heading to Wisconsin as rookies. The team’s seventh pick at 214 overall in round six would break the tie, giving one side of the football the edge for at least a few minutes.

That tiebreaker for now goes to the offense and particularly the offensive line, as the Packers selected a home-grown talent in Wisconsin Badgers offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen.

A perfect athletic fit for the Packers, Van Lanen played left tackle for the Badgers after graduating from Bay Port High School in Green Bay. He started there in both 2019 and 2020 and was named to All-Big Ten teams both of those seasons — second-team in 2019 and first-team as a senior.

Van Lanen’s workout is spot-on with the Packers’ preferences, as he showed quick feet and good explosiveness at 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds. He is now the third offensive lineman in the Packers’ draft class, joining Ohio State center Josh Myers (round two) and Ole Miss lineman Royce Newman (round four).

Stay tuned for more on the Packers’ 6th-round pick and for the Packers’ next pick in a few minutes as they go back on the clock at 220 shortly.