There's no doubt that Fred Taylor is one of the most prominent players in Jacksonville Jaguars history. This is why people listen when he speaks. And just recently, he said something about rookie tight end Nate Boerkiercher that will make Jags fans run through a brick wall.
See, Jacksonville has caught a lot of heat for selecting Boerkircher at No. 56 in the 2026 NFL draft despite the fact that the pick wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed.
But if you still aren't thrilled about Boerkicher — and you have all the right in the world not to be — your view could change once you hear which legendary tight end Taylor compared him to.
Fred Taylor just compared Nate Boerkircher to Rob Gronkowski
Fred Taylor made an appearance on 1010 XL and stated that Nate Boerkircher reminds him of Rob Gronkowski, pointing out that they have similar traits.
Call him that, 87. He reminds me a lot of an 87 that I was a teammate with for one year up in New England," Taylor said. "Stature-wise, he can catch everything. He has really soft hands. He can run routes. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself and call him Gronk. But like I said, he reminds me of Gronk, wears 87."
Taylor continued, "They're similar in height and size, and when you look at his film, he really can catch the ball. I mean, he is moving his route, but his hands, they're just so soft, like Gronk, and they just remind me of everything that Gronk did when he was a younger player there."
For context, Taylor was drafted ninth overall in 1998 and spent 11 seasons in Duval before bolting to the New England Patriots in 2009. It was in 2010 that the Pats drafted Gronkowski.
And in case you were wondering why this is noteworthy, Gronk was one of the top tight ends in the NFL in the 2010s, both as a blocker and as a pass catcher. During his 11-year career — he played two seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — he hauled in 621 receptions for 9,286 yards with 92 touchdowns.
Now, Taylor isn't saying that Boerkircher will have a similar NFL journey as Gronk, but the fact that he has a similar skill set should make Jaguars fans feel better about the decision to draft him in Round 2.
The Jaguars are confident that Nate Boerkircher can make an impact
Just recently, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that several teams had set their sights on Nate Boerkircher. That might've been the reason they didn't want to risk losing him and chose to take him in Round 2. And if they weren't confident that he could make an impact, they wouldn't have drafted him.
And that's the thing, Boerkircher will be behind Brenton Strange on the depth chart, but should still get plenty of targets and opportunities as a pass blocker.
If Nate Boerkircher ends up producing at a high level, it will be hard to criticize the Jaguars for drafting him in Round 2. For one, Fred Taylor believes he has the physical skills to make noise.
Add us as a preferred source on Google