The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2026 NFL Draft with the intention of increasing the team's ceiling. You can make the case that they did after coming out with a promising haul. The reviews were great, but the Jags are confident that they selected players who will help them win.
Heck, some of those players could be positioned to steal playing time or even snaps from veterans. With this in mind, here are five players who could lose snaps or even their jobs to rookies.
Quintin Morris, Jaguars tight end
Brenton Strange remains TE1 on the depth chart and should still get the lion's share of the workload even after the arrival of Nate Boerkircher. The same can't be said about Quintin Morris despite the fact that he just signed a one-year deal to return to Jacksonville last February.
The coaching staff likes Morris a lot. The Jags brought him after the draft in 2025. Although the Bowling Green product didn't make the initial 53-man roster, he was eventually signed because of his contributions as a blocker.
The issue is that Boerkircher is more talented — even his selection didn't generate that much hype — so he could get plenty of snaps at the expense of Morris.
Patrick Mekari, Jaguars offensive guard
The Jaguars drafted Emmanuel Pregnon because they wanted to get tougher at the line of scrimmage. They got rave reviews for landing the former Oregon Duck in Round 3, with some analysts calling him the steal of Day 2.
Pregnon certainly has the mauler mentality and the skills to start at one guard spot. Given that Ezra Cleveland is coming off a strong season, Patrick Mekari could be vulnerable to losing his job. The former Cal Golden Bear struggled with injuries and had a hard time adjusting to playing right guard in 2025 after lining up on the left side the year prior.
Mekari will get a chance to keep his job, but he'll need to look over his shoulder with Pregnon lurking around.
DaVon Hamilton, Jaguars defensive tackle
DaVon Hamilton had a strong year in 2025. He was pivotal in helping the Jaguars field the most dominant defense against the run. However, he doesn't have much pass-rush juice, which is why Jacksonville struggled to create pressure on the interior.
That led the team's brass to trade for Ruke Orhorhoro and later draft Albert Regis. Even if Ham starts the season, he could see his playing time decrease as the year progresses due to the fact that Orhorhoro has more pass-rush upside. Similarly, Regis has a well-rounded skill set, which should allow him to take away some defensive snaps from Hamilton.
B.J. Green II, Jaguars defensive end
Along with Danny Striggow, B.J. Green II turned heads in 2025 when he made the 53-man initial roster as an undrafted rookie. In the end, though, he only played a tad over 100 snaps.
Green should continue making strides in Year 2, but nobody would bat an eye if Project X Zach Durfee makes an impact right off the bat and gets ahead on the depth chart.
Eric Murray, Jaguars safety
Eric Murray is vulnerable to losing his starting job in 2026. While he was dependable last season, his biggest flaw is that he doesn't generate that many takeaways. That's rookie Jalen Huskey's forte.
Although Huskey isn't great against the run, his playmaking skills more than make up for it. Murray will need to fend off him and sophomore Caleb Ransaw if he wants to stick around beyond 2026.
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