JACKSONVILLE – He's tough, versatile and hard-working.

When it comes to Jaguars rookie tight end Nate Boerkircher, Christian Ellsworth said the first two attributes matter a lot. But it's the last element Boerkircher's last collegiate position coach emphasized recently.

Football matters to Boerkircher, and it shows.

"He's about business, and he's going to have his head down at work," Ellsworth said.

Boerkircher, who played 2020-2024 collegiately at the University of Nebraska before playing at Texas A&M this past season, was selected by the Jaguars in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft – No. 56 overall. He participated in the recent 2026 Rookie Minicamp, and is working with the team as the Jaguars continue their '26 offseason program.

"You can tell he's got a calming confidence about him," Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen said, calling Boerkircher, "Extremely locked in."

"I knew some guys at Nebraska, and I've talked to some guys at A&M," Coen said. "In the weight room, the way he attacks things, the way that he works… very serious about his craft, very serious about playing football and getting better.

"He fits right in with guys like [tight end Brenton] Strange and those guys in that room already that are workers and wired that way … I think will only help."

That trait has defined Boerkircher's career. Ellsworth, now the quarterbacks coach at Kansas State, served as an offensive assistant at Nebraska in 2023 and coached Boerkircher again as tight ends coach at Texas A&M this past season.

"You're not going to get a ton of flash out of him, which was everything that we wanted in a tight end," Ellsworth said. "He truly cares about the right things. He comes from a tight-knit community, a small community that just values the things that you want in a football player and a person."

Ellsworth called Boerkircher "an awesome, awesome human."

"He has a big heart and cares about the people around him," Ellsworth said.

Boerkircher (6-feet-5, 245) is considered a high-end blocker with the versatility to help the Jaguars be effective when they play multiple-tight end packages – with physicality a defining trait.

"The No. 1 thing about him is that he's tough and that's why he's such a good blocker," Ellsworth said. "He's willing to strap and fight, no matter the situation, and he's truly just not afraid to stick his face in there and get nasty when you need it."

Added Ellsworth, "You're not going to find tougher. If he got banged up at practice, I'd say, 'Hey, you good, you good?' He'd say, 'I don't get hurt. I don't get hurt.' That's what he'd say to me over and over. He would come field after a drive after a couple of big collisions and be ready to go again. That's just what you're going to get with him."

Boerkircher caught 38 career passes for 417 yards and four touchdowns collegiately, including 19 for 198 yards and three touchdowns in 2025 – with Ellsworth saying those numbers reflect Boerkircher's collegiate surroundings more than his ability as a receiver.

"There's only one football to go around every play, and the SEC is set up for being a [man-to-man coverage] league," Ellsworth said. "It was set up for the wideouts to get the majority of the catches, but if he was singled up to get an opportunity in the air, he was going to make the play. When it did call for him to be singled up, we weren't afraid to attack that and throw it."

Added Ellsworth, "The stats don't really paint the picture of who he is as a pass catcher. He's a contested catch guy. He's going to go make the top plays. He put that on tape for us this year at A&M. You can see flashes of him being a very efficient pass catcher.

"The thing that he's worked on throughout his career is his route running. We put him through a very extensive route tree at A&M last year. You're just surprised at his ability to move at how big he is. He has these long massive arms and big hands and can go and make the plays when you need it."