JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Anita from Springfield
What would the holdup be in fairly "standard" rookie contracts to keep Boerkircher from signing with the rest of the class? I am not worried, just curious. Thanks!
Nine of the Jaguars' 10 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft signed their rookie contracts Thursday upon arriving at the Miller Electric Center for '26 rookie minicamp, with second-round tight end Nate Boerkircher – the team's first selection in the draft – now the only '26 draft selection not to do so. While it's understandable to be curious, there is no reason to worry. While rookie contracts indeed have been standard since the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement implemented the rookie wage scale, making rookie contracts slotted with little room for negotiation, that dynamic changed last offseason when the Houston Texans signed second-round wide receiver Jayden Higgins to a fully guaranteed contract. That broke precedent and caused many second-round selections to delay signing contracts last offseason – and a similar situation wouldn't be surprising this offseason. Boerkircher was the 24th selection of Round 2. It wouldn't be surprising if it takes a few weeks for the market to set around that selection before the sides reach a deal.
Jonathan from Phoenix, AZ
It's refreshing to just be able to skim over offseason activity regarding the Jags and patiently wait for the season to start. I used to try to talk to my friend who is a Kansas City Chiefs fan in the offseason. I was always confused by how detached he was in the offseason but how engaged he was during the season. Seeing the way this current team and staff operates, it has a similar feel. Obviously, we need consecutive years with success – which has evaded this franchise – but for some reason I don't see any world where this team comes out and lays an egg like they have in the past following a successful season outside of a quarterback injury. Call me crazy but things feel stable and repeatable right now.
Your perspective here is far from crazy, and what's going on around this team indeed feels stable and sustainable. Winning teams are intriguing during the regular season and postseason. Struggling teams are intriguing during the offseason. This is the Jaguars' first "boring" offseason in a while. It's absolutely a good sign and – considering the team's on-field performance for much of the last decade – it's absolutely understandable that it would be a confusing offseason for Jaguars fans and observers.
Mike from Naugatuck, CT
O, the tight end position has been dissected in and out. What I see is a team not just taking into consideration getting tougher, but thinking about red-zone efficiency. After every draft it seems fans want to insert every pick into a starting role. What if tight end Brenton Strange gets hurt? There is rarely appreciation for back of the roster depth after the draft, but I thought the Jaguars did very well complementing the current roster.
Depth gets overlooked a lot in the offseason. It doesn't get overlooked as often in November and December.
Marlin from Trenton, FL
My Fantasy Football team name is the Fighting Uruk-hai. Get it? Fantasy? Unlike you, I am not very funny and have very little funk. However, I remember going to training camp and watching Justin Blackmon play and just being awed with his talent. He might have been the biggest "what-if? in Jaguars history. I think he had Hall of Fame level talent, do you agree?
Former Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon from this perspective is absolutely the biggest what-if in franchise history, and there's little question from this perspective he could have been a Pro Football Hall of Fame player. There is infinitely more to a great NFL career than talent. Blackmon was a prime example of that.
JAY from THE BURG, FL
Duval DNA. Man, I like that. We not Me. I really like that, too. The powers that be are building a football team – one that we have never seen before in Duval County, one that doesn't just have a chip on their shoulder but a team that believes this is our spot, this is our division. And has the ability and the will to defend it. When everyone expects it. That's next level tough and not every team in the NFL has that DNA.
Jay likes Duval DNA.
Don from Marshall, NC
Maybe it is just myself, but I swear every time I see Wesley Williams, he immediately reminds me of Dwight Freeney. Who knows he might bring back the spin move! Go Jaguars!
When it comes to comparing Jaguars rookie edge Wesley Williams to Hall of Fame defensive end Dwight Freeney – and therefore very quickly setting an incredibly "high bar" – Don remains "all in."
Chris from Mandarin
Oh yes, Howard Cosell … famous for saying, "Look at the monkey run" on Monday Night Football in 1983. Some things need to die. Valar Morghulis.
Cosell infamously said, "That little monkey gets loose, doesn't he?" in reference to Washington wide receiver Alvin Garrett in 1983. Some considered the comment racist. Cosell said the comment was based on Garrett's small size and not his race. A decade before, Cosell had described running back Mike Adamle – a Caucasian – as "a little monkey." Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali and Garrett all supported Cosell. Cosell wasn't perfect. He was controversial. He made mistakes. But that was his side of what at the time was a very big national story.
Lane from Winter Garden, FL
Zone, I understand how becoming a sportswriter has essentially killed your fandom as it's now a job instead of a hobby. Do you ever miss being a fan or does it just seem silly now after so many years in the business?
I don't know that I would say becoming a sportswriter "killed" my fandom. I was still a fan of the team now called the Washington Commanders in my early days working for the Florida Times-Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, And I did stop caring about that team when I began covering the NFL. But "killed" implies death and death implies some level of mourning involved. I don't mourn not being a "fan," nor do I miss it. It has been replaced by what I feel about the Jaguars now – which is a professional and comparatively dispassionate interest. By "comparatively dispassionate," I mean that while I want the Jaguars to win and hope very much for their success – I don't incorporate those hopes into what I write or say. And I minimize emotion. Why? Because it's the job of fans, players, coaches and even personnel officials to be emotional. The position I hold requires reporting and analyzing what goes on around the Jaguars – and presenting that analysis in a measured way so that people can understand what's going on. I once got so upset at a loss by the team now called the Commanders that I ran down my hallway screaming and crying, threatening not to go to school the next day. I expect many Jaguars fans can relate to this. Such a state of mind is not conducive for professional reporting and analysis.
Trevor from Jacksonville
One last question before closing the door on post-draft talk. After the overreaction I had after the draft (in my defense, it's tradition), the Jaguars' front office will be relieved to know I now like their draft for several reasons that have already been discussed. The only thing I can't quite shake is what Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone said about slotting in players before the draft and picking those players during the draft. Is it common for NFL teams to draft the exact players they projected themselves to take the day before?
Gladstone said when discussing his he was a little surprised that it happened and didn't expect it to happen often. This suggests it's uncommon.
Chris from Mandarin
All this talk about tight ends got me thinking. If you had an elite running back like Derrick Henry, or Fred Taylor, or another player of that quality, it seems to me that lining up in 14 personnel on every single play would wear out a defense very quickly and the offense could more or less force the ball down the field four yards at a time. I feel like even if the defense knew it was coming, something like that would be difficult to contain for a full game … especially considering tight ends invariably create personnel mismatches for the defense.
If 12 or 13 Personnel – meaning two and three tight ends – is a "good thing," a four tight-end 14 Personnel package might be called "too much of a good thing." Your premise seems at least somewhat based on the idea that a four tight-end set could grind out four yards a carry consistently. The thought here is that the plays in this package might be predictable enough that defenses could defend it just as consistently.
Jadon from Raleigh, NC
Does JP display antifragility? Be honest.
Damn straight.
