The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Houston Texans in Week 6 but should go into their BYE with their heads up. There's no such thing as a moral victory, but the Jags never throw in the towel. Moreover, they should feel great about the growth some of their young players displayed in the tough loss.
Travis Hunter was definitely the best of the bunch. His jaw-dropping two-way play stole the spotlight. On the other hand, Nate Boerkircher showed why he was a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Boerkircher only had two catches against Houston, but one of them was an insane one-handed catch worthy of a highlight reel. The Aurora, Nebraska native had already carved out a role as a blocker in the Jacksonville offense, but he's proving that he can also be a dependable pass-catcher in Trevor Lawrence's wide array of weapons.
Nate Boerkircher with the INSANE one-handed touchdown catch!
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
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Nate Boerkircher was a steady contributor for the Jaguars in Week 6
Before Week 6, Nate Boerkircher had logged 145 offensive snaps (46.2 percent of the team's total). That's nearly as much as Brian Thomas Jr. In the loss to Houston, he had 38 more.
Sure, most of Boerkircher's snaps were as a blocker, but he's come through thus far this season, reeling in six passes for 52 yards with one touchdown on eight targets.
It's also worth noting that Boerkircher was an underrated pass-catcher in college. Although he only reeled in 19 passes for 198 yards with three touchdowns in 2025, his separation rate of 86.4 percent showed that he simply wasn't targeted often.
In Jacksonville, Boerkircher is quickly showing that good things happen when he gets the football.
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The Jaguars had a plan when they drafted Nate Boekircher
After the win over the Eagles in Week 5, NFL analyst John Frascella noted that the Jags passed on several talented players to draft Nate Boerkircher at No. 56. He's right that they missed out on studs such as Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., and wide receiver Malachi Fields. However, general manager James Gladstone didn't randomly pull Boerkircher's name from a hat. He had a vision, and the rookie out of Texas A&M is fulfilling it.
The Jags didn't have much success running the ball in 2025. They wanted to run 12 and 13 personnel sets but didn't have the personnel. Boerkircher has changed that, as multi-tight-end packages have become a staple of the Jacksonville offense.
Now, you could make the case that even if Boerkircher has become a pivotal piece on offense, you don't draft a tight end whose main task is blocking in Round 2. However, other teams had set their sights on him, so if the Jags hadn't drafted him with the 56th pick, they would've been at risk of losing him.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars drafted Nate Boerkircher with a specific role in mind, and he's thriving in it. Even better, he still has room for improvement, so his touchdown against the Texans should be one of many more to come.
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