Insider with insight into Jaguars picking Nate Boerkircher and his role

With the first selection in the 2026 NFL draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars picked Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher in Round 2.

This was a selection that came with its share of criticism. Boerkircher was taken by the Jaguars at 56th overall, but on the consensus big board, he was the 163rd-ranked prospect.

However, Boerkircher was one of the top blocking tight ends in this draft class, and that ability had him rated much higher on not only the Jaguars' draft board, but other teams as well, according to the NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe.

Had the Jaguars not taken Boerkircher at pick 56, the belief is that he would have been long gone before the Jaguars were back on the clock at pick 81.

"A little insight into the Jags' thinking," Wolfe said, "they knew there was going to be a run on tight ends, particularly blocking tight ends in this draft. There was a lot of teams that think like them, like the Rams, like the 49ers, teams that have similar building styles, and from my understanding, if he didn't go with the Jaguars pick, he was going to get selected late in the second round. So that's a guy they anticipate being a starter in 12 formation opposite of Brenton Strange. Another guy to take pressure for them, another weapon for Trevor Lawrence down the field, and gives them some fluidity in how they want to do their lineup."

We will see how training camp plays out, but another interesting note made by Wolfe is that it sounds like the plan is for Boerkircher to step into the TE2 role right away, rather than competing with Quintin Morris for those snaps.