ESPN just delivered a harsh verdict on Jaguars' Nate Boerkircher pick

The Jacksonville Jaguars had bigger needs than tight end in the 2026 NFL Draft. Heck, you could even make the case that the position was a strength due to the presence of Brenton Strange. This is why the Jags raised eyebrows when they used their first selection — the 56th overall — to take Nate Boerkircher, a blocking tight end with minimal college production.

However, the team's brass had a vision when they chose the Texas A&M product instead of bolstering their interior defensive line or the pass rush.

While Jacksonville was thrilled to land Boekircher, general manager James Gladstone caught plenty of heat for the selection. As a matter of fact, the Jags keep getting low grades for the decision ahead of training camp.

The Jaguars are still getting poor reviews for the Nate Boekircher pick

Seth Walder of ESPN graded every NFL team's offseason and gave the Jaguars a B. He didn't like the Nate Boerkircher pick, arguing that he was a reach, and Jacksonville could have traded down and still landed him.

"Where Jacksonville probably erred was the draft. Without a first-round pick, the Jaguars spent their first selection -- pick No. 56 -- on Boerkircher," Walder wrote. "The pick was a reach, part of an unexpected blocking tight ends that went earlier than expected, which indicates bad draft process. If the rest of the league thought he wasn't worthy of selection at that spot, he's less likely to be worth it -- and the Jaguars could have traded down with a recent chance of landing him later."

On paper, Walder makes some valid points, but his arguments collapse under the slightest of scrutiny. Sure, Jacksonville did draft Boerkircher before the consensus board suggested. However, other teams also set their sights on him, and the Jags would have risked losing him if they hadn't taken him at No. 56.

One of Boerkircher's biggest knocks during the draft process was that he had minimal college production, reeling in a paltry 19 catches for 197 yards with three touchdowns last year. However, his separation rate of 86.4 percent is irrefutable evidence that he was a much better pass-catcher than he was given credit for.

Moreover, the Jaguars are early adopters of the trend to run more two and three tight-ends sets. Last year, they ran more six offensive line packages because they didn't have the personnel. But with Boerkircher in the mix, they can now create mismatches on offense.

The Jaguars knew what they were doing when they drafted Nate Boekircher

If you spent shuffling words around the whole day, you can make everything look bad, and if you're hyperfixated on specific data, the Nate Boerkircher pick looks dreadful. Contrary to what Seth Walder suggests, the decision wasn't the result of negligence. Sure, you could argue that Jacksonville had bigger needs, but there weren't many enticing options to address them, so the team's brass chose to instead add a piece to fulfill Liam Coen's offensive vision.

Granted, Brenton Strange remains the tight end, and that could make the decision to draft Boerkircher not look great, but the truth is that his presence alone will give the offense another dimension. Wouldn't that make the pick worth it?

Of course, Nate Boerkircher has yet to take the field, so the jury is still out. However, he flashed enough early at Organized Team Activities to make you think that he can make an immediate impact for the Jaguars, and if he does, he'll make several analysts look silly in retrospect.

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