Nate Boerkircher is already making Jaguars' James Gladstone look like a genius

The Jacksonville Jaguars were under heavy scrutiny for selecting Nate Boerkircher with their first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the 56th overall. For starters, they had bigger needs than tight end and ignored the consensus big board when they made the selection. Compounding the issue was that Boerkircher's college production didn't jump off the stat sheet. When you add it all up, general manager James Gladstone became the subject of criticism. However, he knew what he was doing.

The Jags wanted to run more multiple tight-end sets in 2026, and having Boerkircher around would allow them to fulfill that vision. Fast forward to Week 1, and the coaching staff wasted no time getting the rookie out of Texas A&M involved.

Although Boerkircher only had one catch for nine yards in the dominant win against the Cleveland Browns, he made his presence felt in the running game. Moreover, head coach Liam Coen expects him to be a bigger part of the game plan moving forward.

The Jaguars will make Nate Boerkircher a pivotal part of the offense

Head coach Liam Coen met with the local media one day after the Week 1 win. He stated that he was pleased to see Nate Boekircher going and will continue to incorporate him into the game plan as the year progresses.

"Yeah, I think it's probably an 'as we go' thing. I think it's great to get Nate going, and especially taking some of those hard downs away from Strange in some ways, and being able to be at the point of attack not every single time," Coen told reporters (3:09 mark). "Thought, it was cool, alright, Strange hadn't really gotten involved yet, and on the drive, I said it to the staff on the headset. It's like, hey, we want to get, I want to get Strange going here. And on that drive, we targeted him on the in-break.

Coen continued, "He was a little bit behind. He got broken up, and then we end up throwing the touchdown to him a few plays later. So I do think that will come. You know, it's hard in Week 1 to truly get every single thing that you wanted to get done within, especially with the way the game went in so many ways. But I do think that'll come."

Boerkircher played 38 offensive snaps (67 percent of the team's total) in Week 1, just one less than fellow tight end Brenton Strange. That was by design, as veteran Quintin Morris also logged 24 offensive snaps.

With the three in the mix, Jacksonville had no trouble running the ball, racking up 126 yards on 32 carries. Boerkircher, in particular, shined as a blocker.

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

Heading into the draft, defensive tackle was seemingly the Jaguars' biggest need, but they knew this year's class was somewhat underwhelming, which is why they waited until Round 3 to select Albert Regis. Moreover, Jacksonville identified the running game as a bigger issue. This led to the Nate Boekircher selection. It's been only one week, but the decision is already paying dividends.

The running game was clicking, something Liam Coen acknowledged after the game. But as he noted, Boerkircher will have a role beyond being a blocker. This will make their scheme more difficult to stop, as the Aurora, Nebraska native is an underrated receiver who's going to create mismatches opposite Brenton Strange when the Jags run two tight-end sets.

The Jaguars offense already looked great in Week 1, but it can be even better once they find out how to get the most out of everyone. That includes Nate Boerkircher.

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