When the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher at No. 56, you could hear analysts across the league utter a collective Urgg? like Scooby Doo. The reason? They took him way earlier than the consensus board projected. Couple that with the fact that the former Aggie had minimal production coming out of college, and the Jags were blasted for the selection.
Now, general manager James Gladstone made it clear that he was confident with his progress. Moreover, teams follow the consensus draft board all the time and make massive blunders year in and year out.
On the other hand, if you still don't want to give Gladstone the benefit of the draft, intel has surfaced after the draft that shows maybe the Jags were into something when they chose Boerkircher.
The Jaguars weren't the only NFL team that liked Nate Boerkircher
Jaguars analyst Dan Griffis of Action News Jax posted on Twitter that Nate Boerkircher was credited with a head-turning separation rate of 86.4 percent. Yet, he was only targeted 22 times on the Aggies offense last year.
Similarly, draft analyst Jon Ledyard said that some teams ranked the Aurora, Nebraska native higher than the consensus board, adding that he would have been drafted in the next 15 to 20 picks if the Jags hadn't rolled with him at No. 56.
Basically, Ledyard is stating that Boerkircher was just a few picks away from being a third-round selection, so you cannot truly call him a reach with a straight face. Is his dearth of production in college a reason for concern? Perhaps, but Jacksonville must be aware that he wasn't getting opportunities despite being open.
This is a long-winded way to say that James Gladstone wasn't simply pulling names to draft from a hat, and instead had a deliberate plan when he chose Boerkircher.
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The Jaguars are confident Nate Boerkircher can make an instant impact in 2026
Let's get it out of the way: Nate Boerkircher won't get 100 targets next season. Heck, not even fellow tight end Brenton Strange may get that many, and that's because the Jaguars ask their tight ends to block. That's an area where Boerkircher excels. Sure, the coaching staff will look for favorable matchups, but don't expect his production to pop off the stat sheet.
Having said that, you can expect Boerkircher to get more than 22 targets in 2026. Don't be surprised if he ends up with 25 to 30 catches. When you take into account that he's the No. 2 behind Strange, those are solid numbers. It's also worth noting that Jacksonville took Tanner Koziol in Round 4, so he'll also get his fair share of targets.
Would it be great if Nate Boerkircher posted 1,000 yards next season? You bet, but that won't be his main role in Liam Coen's scheme. He doesn't have to. Instead, expect him to put his blocking skills to use to help the Jaguars bully opposing teams in the trenches.
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