The Jacksonville Jaguars know they want to be a physical team that runs the ball to wear opponents down. To fulfill the vision, they beefed up the offensive line and selected two tight ends, Tanner Koziol and Nate Boerkircher, in the NFL Draft. The strategy raised eyebrows across the league because they used their own big board instead of following the consensus. But as unorthodox as it seemed, the Jags are quickly seeing encouraging results.
Boerkircher and Koziol have been getting lots of reps throughout training camp. Moreover, they've been practicing with the first team, which confirms that Jacksonville expects big things from both of them.
Koziol, in particular, has wasted no time showcasing his catching skills and quickly getting the coaching staff's attention. Just recently, offensive coordinator Grant Udinski talked about how quickly the rookie tight end is getting acclimated.
Tanner Koziol is showing fast improvement at Jaguars training camp
Grant Udinski met with the local media after Day 4 of minicamp. He stated that Tanner Kizel has shown significant growth since joining the Jaguars, adding that the rookie tight end has improved in different areas.
"I try to stay out of the predictions and saying a guy is going to be at this certain spot at this certain time because it's a little bit outside of our control. And ultimately, it's not going to do anything but get us in trouble," Grant Udinski told reporters (3:52 mark). "But I think where we saw what we saw on tape from him was the ball skills and some of the toughness and the growth. Another guy that got better year over year over year."
Udinski continued, "And even for our short time with him here in the spring, you see a guy from when he showed up and at his first individual drills in rookie minicamp to where he is now. There's improvements really in every facet of his game. Now it might not be obviously apparent, but there are little things with how his stance is, how he's approaching blocks, his understanding of what we're trying to attack in the different run schemes."
Later in the exchange, Udinski says that Koziol is doing his best to become a complete tight end.
"So his growth from a tight end who might have been used in certain ways when he was at Ball State or even in high school that his experience is totally unique. He's really grown to try to understand the full offense and be able to fit that role as a complete tight end, which is encouraging."
Udinski is talking about Kozoil's blocking because that was one of his weakest areas coming out of college and probably the one he needs to work on. But based on his comments, he's trending in the right direction.
Tanner Koziol gives the Jaguars an intriguing player
Tanner Koziol will tentatively be TE3 next season, but he has a trait set that both Brenton Strange and Nate Boerkircher lack. At 6'7", he gives Trevor Lawrence a huge target in the red zone and third-down situations. Already, the Houston Cougar has put his catching skills on full display, routinely reeling in 50/50 balls.
This doesn't mean that Kozoil is suddenly going to move ahead of Boerkircher, let alone Strange, on the depth chart. However, his quick progress could incentivize Jacksonville to run three-tight-end sets more often.
Granted, there's still plenty of work left before the regular season starts, but the Jaguars should be thrilled with how quickly Tanner Koziol is getting acclimated.
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