JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
EJ from Jacksonville
Mr. Zone. I am a fan that doesn't fan a lot. I confess I don't know about any of the draft picks. Given the order selected and the position, it seems that the player selected was the closest example I have seen as to the best available at the time in the opinion of the trio. Do you agree that Best Available Player controlled?
The Jaguars this past weekend selected 10 players in the 2026 NFL Draft, with the list – one more time for those in the back of the class – as follows: Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher (Round 2, No. 56 overall), Texas A&M defensive tackle Albert Regis (Round 3, No. 81 overall), Oregon guard Emmanuel Pregnon (Round 3, No. 88 overall), Maryland safety Jalen Huskey (Round 3, No. 100 overall), Duke edge Wesley Williams (Round 4, No. 119 overall), Houston tight end Tanner Koziol (Round 5, No. 164 overall), Baylor wide receiver Josh Cameron (Round 6, No. 191 overall), Stanford wide receiver CJ Williams (Round 6, No. 203 overall), Washington edge Zach Durfee (Round 7, No. 233 overall) and Middle Tennessee State linebacker Parker Hughes (Round 7, No. 240 overall). The Jaguars entered the weekend believing they had no glaring holes. Their draft actions reflected that thought as they did not feel the need to desperately trade up to address specific position. The reality is all teams go into all NFL Drafts aware of some needs on some level. Understanding that, this Jaguars draft did seem as much based on best available player as is possible.
Nikki from East Hampton, CT
O, in response to the the league trending to heavier tight-end packages, why is that the latest trend? What makes these packages more desirable or effective in recent times?
This remains a hot-button O-Zone topic – understandably so, considering tight ends were perhaps the main theme of the Jaguars' 26 draft. The Jaguars selected two tight ends in the same draft for the first time in franchise history. The fact that both selections – Boerkircher and Tanner – were in the first five rounds shows that these were important selections. This indeed follows a league-wide trend of teams wanting to be able to play two- and three-tight end packages. Why is this a league-wide the trend? I will let Jaguars and NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks explain: "It makes it very, very difficult [for defenses to defend the offense]. 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." That.
Anita from Springfield
With 10 picks and 18 undrafted free agents, this feels like a year we could see significant roster turnover as the new regime fully shapes a roster they want to work around. Given their success last year, I for one have complete faith this is about to be an awesome year!!
Go Jaguars.
Sean from Oakleaf, FL
What is your personal opinion on "reaches" in the draft - whether a few spots or a few rounds higher than the experts slotted the player?
My personal opinion is NFL general managers should set their own "draft board" – and their own rankings – and select players based on their own evaluation. Not some "consensus." To not grasp this is to completely misunderstand how the draft works. It is fine and necessary for a team to have an idea about how the league in general feels about a player as a way to plot draft strategy, but a team should not rank players – or select them – based on the feelings of other teams or "experts." Ever.
Pedal Bin from Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Oh Mighty 'O' / King of all Funk, I just wanted to express my total gratitude to Jaguars Owner Shad Khan and the Jaguars for the once-in-a-lifetime experience I have had at the draft. Announcing Tanner Koziol as the 164th pick was one of the best experiences in my life. Hopefully he'll be a future Hall of Famer! Memories of these last three days will last a lifetime!
Good stuff.
Dave from Los Angeles, CA
On Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone following offensive trends … It seems kind of illogical to say you are doing something because other offenses are doing it. If other offenses are already doing it, defenses are already preparing for it. The trend you follow ought to be counter what defenses are preparing for. I'm probably overthinking this … Go Jags.
That's certainly a way to think of it – and that way of thinking isn't without merit. The other way to think about it is that you have to stay abreast of league trends – and be agile enough in your decision-making process – to take advantage of the smallest of opportunities. The Jaguars are looking at it a bit more in the second way.
Gregory from the mean fields of EHS
I think I see a pattern forming here. Something about Duval DNA. I hope it travels well. Thanks for the O-Zone, O!!
Good eye.
Reese from Camden, NJ
I don't think was a good draft. We left so much talent for other teams to pick up. None of our team needs were really addressed. No D line help. No secondary help. No linebacker help. What was this draft about? We wasted 11 draft picks.
The Jaguars think the '26 draft was a very good draft. They addressed what they considered a need at tight end and can now run multiple tight-end formations more effectively. They selected defensive line with their second selection and secondary with their third selection. The draft was about addressing those areas, getting contributing players who can develop and continuing to build the roster. The Jaguars selected 10 players in the '26 draft.
Dan from Madrid
Welcome to the all-new Jags players selected and added as free agents! Let's hope all of them turn out to be perennial Pro Bowlers and make that Mel Kiper Jr. eat his words.
Not everyone loved the Jaguars' draft approach this past weekend. This is not a concern inside the Miller Electric Center. Not even remotely. Nor should it be.
Ricky from Duval
No one knows what's going to happen. If the players work out and we keep winning James, will be loved. If it don't, he'll be canned. Just got to ride the ride.
Pretty much.
Bradley from Death Valley, CA
I get the feeling that the Jags were trying to back fill the roster with intangibly rich, Jaguars type players with the suspicion that three or four might break out into solid pros. I would gather a lot of heavy thought went into the Jags' draft theory this year. I am trusting Gladstone, Head Coach Liam Coen, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli and the staff to innovate and execute their vision.
I don't know that the Jaguars were trying "backfill" the roster as much as they were trying to smartly negotiate the draft within their given circumstance. The Jaguars entered the draft with 11 selections – and their earliest was No. 56 overall. They therefore had the choice of trading up aggressively – and spending accordingly – to get into the late first or early second round or staying at No. 56 and maintaining what Gladstone called their "volume" of late-round selections. They explored the first possibility within the parameters of what they thought such a trade would be worth and ultimately chose the second path. The Jaguars believe a lot of the 10 players selected can contribute early and develop later. And yes …. a lot of heavy thought went into this. That's what Gladstone and the personnel people do.
Roger from London
Hi, John. Do you think there are still likely to be moves to add to the roster over the next few weeks? I thought that we might look for a running back in the later rounds, although many analysts thought that this year's slew of running backs was below par for quality. I'm wondering whether running back is still a position of need, to bolster the room following the departure of Travis Etienne Jr.
The Jaguars do not currently consider running back a position of need.
