JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Matt from Jax
What is going on? The picks on the surface do not seem to make sense. We picked a tight end in the second round who is 24-years old, a below-average blocker and rarely caught the ball during his career. This is a real head-scratcher.
Ah, the annual ritual that is quick-trigger NFL Draft reaction. The Jaguars on Friday night selected four players – two on offense, two on defense – on Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft. And while confusion with a touch of discontent was a common inbox theme late Friday, this confusion and discontent was as unsurprising as it was unconcerning. We'll have time to assess Day 2 as a whole through the rest of this and future O-Zones, but we'll focus first on the Jaguars' first selection Friday: Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher, the No. 56 selection overall and the 24th selection of Round 2. This apparently surprised and confused some fans, perhaps because he was not discussed as much before the draft as other prospects. Such pre-draft discussion, while important to fans, is of minimal-to-no importance to the team. Nor should it be. What's important to the team in this case is that the league is moving quickly toward heavy tight end packages – known as "12" and "13" personnel. The fact that there were nine tight ends selected in Rounds 1-3 in this draft – including eight on Day 2 – reflects that. The Jaguars targeted Boerkircher as the tight end they wanted from the group. That's why they selected him in Round 2 rather than waiting until Round 3. This wasn't necessarily a "sexy" selection. I don't know how analysts will "grade" the selection. But the Jaguars were trying to get better at tight end – and improve their toughness and physicality – and keep up with a predominant league trend. The Boerkircher selection made sense in that vein and was only a head scratcher if not seen through that lens.
Eric from Columbus, IN
Yikes. Make it make sense please.
My Scooby Sense – and not by Scobee or Spidey Sense – tells me you want to know why the Jaguars' selections Friday made sense. The selections were as follows: Boerkircher, Texas A&M defensive tackle Albert Regis (Round 3, No. 81 overall) Oregon guard Emmanuel Pregnon (Round 3, No. 88 overall), and Maryland safety Jalen Huskey (Round 3, No. 100 overall). Boerkircher made sense for the reason discussed above. Regis made sense because he's an athletic defensive tackle who can disrupt. Pregnon made sense because the Jaguars are always going to address offensive line in this regime. Huskey makes sense because he's a hard-hitting safety with a knack for creating turnovers. Also: All are tough, physical, smart players. Those sorts of players make sense to this regime.
Joel from Mandarin
Great and Powerful O. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but I'm noticing a theme with our second- and third-round selections. In the 2025 season, the Jags had a great offensive run game and were No. 1 in run defense. The player selections in the 2026 NFL Draft seem to be tough, successful players to complement the run offense and defense. The Jags definitely are going for and succeeding in creating that tough, physical team for those important games from December- February. I believe Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli, General Manager James Gladstone and Head Coach Liam Coen are doing a phenomenal job! GO Jags!!!
Good eye.
Jonathon from Jacksonville
Why did we choose a tight end when we had defensive needs? Defense wins championships. Chaptgpt said we are addressing needs of our quarterback, yet we have four tight ends already? Explain that one.
Gladstone on selecting Boerkircher: "That was rooted in our own internal sentiment and understanding that the trend in the NFL was that heavier tight end sets was going to be something that got prioritized, and we felt certainly a heavier tight end run throughout the course of the back end of the second into the third, and typically that's a window where the wide receiver run is really occurring. I think that certainly showed itself. But he was the one we were hunting up, and we weren't going to allow that to ever be something that we risked."
Joe from Alpharetta
Feel like Boerkircher was surprising pick. Do you anticipate more two tight-end sets if he makes an immediate impact? Would you consider him a first-round pick as part of the Travis Hunter trade package?
I consider Boerkircher the No. 56 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft. I absolutely expect the Jaguars – and the rest of the NFL – to continue leaning toward more heavy tight end packages entering next season. Gladstone was pretty clear on that Friday, and the league has been pretty clear on that all offseason.
Brendan from Yulee
I would rather wait a few extra minutes than listen to everyone's three-minute monologue before each pick is announced. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Good ear.
Yeti Daddy from Somewhere and Yet Nowhere
"O," don't hate it, don't love it. What about you?
I learned long ago not to hate or love drafts in the immediate aftermath. That's because the players have yet to wear pads in a padded practice, much less play a game at the highest level of the sport. The Jaguars' draft through two days makes a lot of sense because they're trying to get more physical, get better in the run game and continue to become a tougher team with strong lines. That's the theme through four selections.
Robert from Fernandina Beach, FL
If a backup tight end is the best we can do in the second round, I'm shocked at the pick. What is your take, Oh wise one?
My take is that it's not accurate at all to call Brenton Strange the starting tight end and all others backups when the idea is to play a bunch of tight ends on a lot of plays.
Richard from Jacksonville
Touted TE (not that I know anything about these guys) taken within a few spots behind us. Why the pick?
(Because the Jaguars do know about these guys and because "touted" is sorta kinda meaningless when it comes to really evaluating players).
Camero from St John's
Why? Why do the Jags always have to try to be the smartest in the room and overreach for guys nobody thinks are worthy?
Good teams don't draft players based on what other people think.
Kenneth from Jacksonville
There were a lot of players they should have traded up for on Day 1, Zone? I thought they were going to be bold. Why weren't they bold?
My sense is the Jaguars wanted to be aggressive on Day 1. My sense is there were players early in Round 2 for whom they would have traded. Here's the thing about trades: Two teams must be willing to partake. If two teams aren't willing to partake, the trade will not happen. This is real life. Not Madden.
Nolan from St. Augustine, FL
Thank you for another excellent offseason of content, Sir! I was mighty proud of the Jags' brass for staying patient Thursday, and not attempting to climb back in to Round One. I'm sure some moments presented themselves for consideration.
My sense is it was not overly difficult for the Jaguars' decision-makers to stay patient Thursday. This is because while fans attach magic to being involved in Thursday's Round 1 extravaganza, teams view the draft less in terms of rounds and move in the big picture. In the big picture, the Jaguars knew there wasn't much magic to trading up to No. 30 or 31 when an essentially equal player clearly was going to be available early in the second round.
Darrell from Fernandina Beach, FL
John, do you think our 2026 first-round pick will amount to anything, I don't.
Darrell's got jokes.
Steve from Wallingford, CT
I guess the question now is, is the team better off with wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter than they would have been with Tet, cornerback Will Johnson, and anyone picked in this draft from #24 down.
We'll find out over the next season or two.
Bradley from Death Valley, CA
How great is it when a team hits on a late-round pick, even a kicker like Cam Little? What have been the Jags' best late-round selections and is there a player you would or maybe have mentioned to the brass that is expected to be drafted late?
How great is it to hit on a late-round selection? Pretty damned great. It's also pretty damned unusual, not to mention more than a little fortunate. You would have to rank kicker Cam Little among the team's best late-round selections, and cornerback Montaric Brown and punter Logan Cooke deserve mention in the conversation.
Bill from Jax
That was the most anticlimactic pick if there ever was one!!
Good teams don't draft to be exciting. They draft to win in the regular season.
