Even though the Jacksonville Jaguars caught plenty of heat for not sticking to the consensus big board, you could make the case that they came out of the 2026 NFL Draft with a promising haul. Sure, they took tight end Nate Boerkircher in Round 2 despite the fact that they had an ascending star in Brenton Strange. However, the former Texas A&M Aggie and fellow rookie Emmanuel Pregnon should help the Jags set the tone at the line of scrimmage.
You could also argue that Jacksonville should have bolstered the interior defensive line at No. 56, but it's entirely possible that the team's brass wasn't enamored with the options it had. Moreover, general manager James Gladstone had just traded for defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro and later took Albert Regis at No. 81, so he definitely checked off that box.
This is a long-winded way to say that the Jaguars entered the draft with a deliberate plan and not just pulled random names from a hat. Nevertheless, an NFL analyst wasn't enthused about the direction they took and had them going a whole different route in his latest do-over.
The Jaguars take Emmanuel McNeil-Warren over Nate Boerkircher in B/R's NFL Draft re-do
Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report did a do-over for several teams in the 2026 NFL draft. For the Jaguars, he had them taking prospects that matched the consensus big board. Here's his reasoning.
"In a lot of cases, Jacksonville's draft could have just looked better on paper had some of the acquisitions been made in different rounds to be better reflect overall value," Sobleski wrote. "For the Jaguars, the entire class can be blown up and restarted from scratch and come across as far more enticing. Obviously, the franchsie didn't own a first-round pick thanks to last year's Travis Hunter trade. Still, Jacksonville made four selections among this year's Top 100."
So what players does Sobleksi thinks Jacksonville should have taken? Behold:
- No. 56, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, safety, Toledo
- No. 81, Will Kacmarek, Ohio State, tight end
- No. 88, Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon, offensive guard
- No. 100, Darrell Jackson Jr., Florida State, defensive tackle
As you can see, Pregnon is the only pick the Jags kept in the draft do-over, and understandably so. He was dubbed the steal of Day 2. On the other hand, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren originally went to the Cleveland Browns at No. 58.
There's no doubt that McNeil-Warren can turn into a playmaker. Heck, Jordan Reid of ESPN wonders why he was available in Round 2 when he was projected to go in the first round. But regardless of how talented the Toledo product is, the Jags already have a pair of game-changers at safety in Antonio Johnson and sophomore Caleb Ransaw.
On top of that, Eric Murray remains in the mix, and Jacksonville took ballhawk Jalen Huskey in Round 3. When you add it all up, the Jaguars weren't in need of immediate help at safety.
The Jaguars are confident Nate Borkerkircher can turn into a instant contributor
The Jaguars went against conventional wisdom in the NFL draft by choosing to follow their own board. That will always raise eyebrows and even rub feathers. Then again, other teams have stuck to the consensus and still failed. If anything, James Gladstone deserves credit for going with his gut.
Anyway, analysts have every right to pass judgment and make an immediate assessment of the draft (guilty as charged), but you cannot truly suggest Gladstone missed the mark without seeing the product on the field first.
Sure, the early results don't look great, but if the players the Jaguars drafted in 2026 end up becoming impact contributors, you won't see them pop up in many do-overs.
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