​Nate Boerkircher didn’t spend the spring making the kind of noise that immediately settles a heated draft debate for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars used the No. 56 overall pick to select the Texas A&M tight end, their first selection of the 2026 NFL Draft. He then moved through the offseason program without becoming one of the most talked-about members of the rookie class. Yet that quiet start hasn’t diminished the high hopes for what he could become this season.
Sports Illustrated’s John Shipley ranked Boerkircher first in his pre-training camp power ranking of Jacksonville’s 10 draft picks, and he wrote that he’d be “stunned” if another Jaguars rookie made a more impactful contribution, assuming Boerkircher stays healthy. The expectation does not hinge on a breakout receiving season from Boerkircher. Rather, with Brenton Strange re-signed and Liam Coen’s knack for fitting complementary pieces together on offense, the plan is for Boerkircher to add value in multiple ways.
The Jaguars’ decision carried extra weight because the team entered the draft without a first-round pick for the first time in franchise history. They waited until the 56th pick to address tight end—an area where Boerkircher had modest college receiving production. In his lone season at Texas A&M, he totaled 19 receptions for 198 yards and three touchdowns. Across five seasons at Nebraska and one with the Aggies, his career numbers stood at 38 catches for 417 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers fed the ongoing debate surrounding the selection that night, even as the offseason stayed relatively quiet and offered little new evidence to shift opinions.
Jacksonville’s reasoning remained consistent. Coen said after the draft that he had a “vision” of the team selecting Boerkircher and that the organization had liked him for a long time. General manager James Gladstone emphasized the NFL’s increasing use of heavier formations at tight end and explained that the Jaguars were unwilling to miss the player they had targeted. “He was the one we were hunting up,” Gladstone said, via the team’s Day 2 draft recap. “We weren’t going to allow that to ever be something we missed.”
The Jaguars appeared to be betting on a complete tight end rather than a prospect whose value would be defined solely by receptions. Training camp will offer a clearer view of Boerkircher’s potential. He’ll be tested on blocking assignments, his ability to engage at the line of scrimmage, and his versatility to operate in multiple formations as the pads come on.
Strange enters camp as Jacksonville’s clear top tight end, but the more telling competition will be behind him. Shipley projected Boerkircher to become the No. 2 option and to enable Coen to deploy 12 personnel—one running back and two tight ends—at a higher rate. That role could keep the rookie on the field regularly, even if it doesn’t translate into a large weekly target total. The expectation is that Boerkircher will contribute in ways that extend beyond simple pass-catching, aligning with the Jaguars’ broader offensive design and the team’s eagerness to maximize every piece of the puzzle.