JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser looks back and ahead at the Jaguars following the 2026 NFL Draft, including them exercising RT Anton Harrison's fifth-year option and their emphasis on tight ends this past weekend.

1. New wrinkle. The Jaguars this past weekend selected two tight ends in the same draft for the first time in franchise history, with both selections – Nate Boerkircher of Texas A&M (Round 2, No. 56 overall) and Tanner Koziol of Houston (Round 5, No. 164 overall) – in the first five rounds. The moves were made with the idea of using more two- and three-tight end formations moving forward, with veterans Brenton Strange and Quintin Morris already figuring heavily in the offense. "It makes it very, very difficult [for defenses to defend the offense]," Jaguars and NFL Media Analyst Bucky Brooks said. "You have to understand trends on defense to be able to build something offensively that can counter that. Defensively, a lot of teams are sitting in two-high safeties and they're daring people to run the football. They're daring people to take a slow, patient approach to drive the ball down the field. When you put more tight ends on the field, you're either going to run roughshod over those fronts and soft packages or you're going to force the defenses to match up in various ways you can exploit. By bringing in the tight ends they're bringing in, while still having Brenton Strange as a part of this, you're creating all kinds of chaos for the defense. They [defenses] have to decide, 'Do we want to go big on big? Do we want to stay in our base package? Do we want to go nickel?' All those things have potential to be exploited based on the talent of the personnel."

2. Straightforward decision. The Jaguars last week exercised the fifth-year option on Harrison's rookie contract. That means Harrison, the No. 27 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, is under contract through the 2027 season. "That was a pretty straightforward decision," General Manager James Gladstone said. "He has really bought into everything that we're trying to do and has shown steady improvement over the course of our time together."

3. Right mindset. Among the hidden numbers from the Jaguars' '26 draft: Five, which is how many kicks defensive end Wesley Williams blocked in his career at Duke. Gladstone called Williams' kick-blocking knack "hard to explain," adding, "I know he cares, so that's probably the first thing because so many guys have talent, but the mindset is the differentiator, and I think in that instance, it's certainly something that I think plays its part." Williams, selected by the Jaguars No. 119 overall (Round 5), blocked two kicks in 2023, two kicks in 2024 and one in 2025. His first two blocked kicks came in the 2023 regular-season opener against Clemson. "Even on a number of the kicks that he didn't block, he was creating disruption and getting really close in a lot of instances, as well, so that's certainly more than just happenstance," Gladstone said. "It's a unique piece that he offers."

4. Walking tall. Four of the Jaguars' 10 selections this past weekend began their collegiate careers as walk-ons: Boerkircher, Baylor wide receiver Josh Cameron (Round 6, No. 191 overall), Washington edge Zach Durfee (Round 7, No. 233 overall) and Middle Tennessee State linebacker Parker Hughes (Round 7, No. 240 overall). "You've got to love it," Gladstone said. "That is a part to me that says a lot. If you can start there and end in the conversation of being a potential draft pick, it says a lot about what you can overcome, being able to – when your back is against the wall – find your path to success, and certainly something that we think about when we're prioritizing guys."

5. Quotable. Wide receiver CJ Williams, selected by the Jaguars in Round 6 – No. 203 overall – described himself as "a competitive football player, a complete guy, right place, right time type of guy." He added, "I don't know if the staff is ever going to have to worry about me being in that playbook. [Quarterback Trevor Lawrence] is never going to have to worry, or any of the quarterbacks for that matter, about me dropping balls consistently. I just want to be a complete guy that competes and adds to the room in whatever way possible. Whether it's just first year playing special teams, whether it's doing whatever, competing every single day. When I put the helmet on, I'm a different guy than I think I am when I do interviews or you meet me in person. So that's what they're probably going to see on a day in and day out basis."