The Jacksonville Jaguars raised eyebrows when they made Brenton Strange a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. After all, they already had Evan Engram, who was coming off a banner season. Granted, Engram's future in Duval was in doubt because he had yet to agree to a long-term deal. That said, using an early-round pick on Strange seemed unnecessary at the time. Couple that with the fact that he had an underwhelming rookie season, and the criticism only increased.
However, Strange made enough strides in 2024 that Jacksonville cut ties with Engram the following year. Right off the bat, that proved to be the right call, as the former Penn State Nittany Lion went on to become a mainstay on offense.
But as good as Strange was last season, a prominent Jaguars voice argues that he could be even better due to the arrival of rookie tight ends Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol.
Jaguars rookies Nate Boekircher and Tanner Koziol will help Brenton Strange
John Shipley of Sports Illustrated recently stated that Brenton Strange benefits the most from the moves the Jags made at tight end, pointing out that he remains the unquestioned No. 1 on the depth chart in spite of the additions of Nate Borkircher and Tanner Koziol.
"Strange was the Jaguars' do-everything man at tight end last year for a reason," Shipley wrote. "He was their versatile chess piece in both the running game and passing game, and the Jaguars lost three of their four regular-season games when Strange was out of the lineup. Now, the Jaguars have tight ends who are capable as blocker and as a receiver to take pressure off Strange and enable him to simply do more."
For context, Shipley is referring to Boerkircher as the blocker and Koziol as the pass-catcher. Having said that, the latter is a much better receiver than his production at Texas A&M suggested. While he only hauled in 19 catches for 198 yards with three touchdowns last year, he had a separation rate of 86.4, meaning that he wasn't targeted often despite the fact that he was targeted often.
Either way, having Boerkircher and Koziol gives the Jaguars plenty of flexibility and takes pressure off Strage's shoulders. Later in his column, Shipley wonders how Jacksonville will use Strange after the arrival of the rookie tight ends.
"Could this mean the Jaguars use Strange less in max protections now that have Boerkircher? Or that the addition of Koziol and his mismatch ability as a pass-catcher could allow Strange to continue to thrive as a blocker?" Shipley wrote.
Both scenarios are feasible, and nobody should bat an eye if Strange ends up putting up career numbers next season. Last year, he had moonlight as a blocker and receiver, but with Boerkircher in the mix, the 2023 second-round pick could see an uptick in targets. In spite of missing five games due to a hip injury, he hauled in a career-best 46 receptions for 540 yards with three touchdowns.
The only reason you probably won't see Strange get 70 targets or more is that Trevor Lawrence's arsenal is stacked with weapons. Nevertheless, he should be able to put up good numbers next season.
Brenton Strange has become a key contributor for the Jaguars
Early in the offseason, vice president of football operations Tony Boselli stated that the Jaguars were working with Brenton Strange (and wide receiver Parker Washington) to reach an extension. The arrival of Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol shouldn't change that.
Sure, having both rookies in the mix offers insurance in case Strange misses time with injuries like he did in 2025, but don't expect either Boerkircher or Koziol to get ahead of him on the depth chart any time soon.
The reason is simple: Brenton Strange is a building block, and the reason the Jaguars brought two tight ends is to get even more out of him next season.
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