James Gladstone's surprising second-round pick shaping Jaguars' identity

James Gladstone's surprising second-round pick shaping Jaguars' identity originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Fortune favors the bold, right?

The good news is that a handful of teams every year prove to be ahead of the curve, both schematically and in terms of roster building. In an age of analytical arms races, the smartest teams are often a step ahead.

The bad news is that every shocking selection carries this same optimism, and it rarely works out.

On Friday, the Jacksonville Jaguars made their first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they cared not for consensus.

Jacksonville shocked the football world

With the 56th overall pick in the second round, Jacksonville took Texas A&M Aggies tight end Nate Boerkircher.

If you haven't heard of him, fear not, you almost certainly aren't alone. On Wide Left's consensus board, Boerkircher ranked 163rd! That makes him the consensus's 12th-ranked tight end,

Boerkircher was a Day 3 pick on seemingly everyone's board, and for good reason. As a redshirt senior, he set a career high in receiving yards: 198. This was a pick made to improve the run game by any means necessary.

Once again, the Jacksonville Jaguars are not afraid to be bold. A year ago, they traded a king's ransom for the rights to take cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter. They claimed he'd change the game, and that being a full-time player at multiple spots was indeed possible.

At least in his rookie season, it wasn't. And heading into Year 2, Hunter will primarily be playing just one side of the ball.

This feels rather similar, shooting for an aspirational goal that much of the league is far too risk-averse to attempt.

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