The Jaguars took plenty of heat in April when they used the 56th overall pick on tight end Nate Boerkircher. Halfway through his rookie year, though, that decision is starting to look a lot less controversial.
Pro Football Focus placed Boerkircher 15th in its latest rookie rankings through Week 9, giving him an overall grade of 68.7. He’s the lone tight end in PFF’s top 15, and the list only includes players who have logged at least 180 offensive or defensive snaps.
That’s a notable turn for a player many were ready to label a miss before the season even kicked off.
Jacksonville’s selection drew heavy skepticism because Boerkircher was ranked 163rd on the consensus big board, nearly 110 spots lower than where the Jaguars took him. The reaction was loud from the start.
CBS Sports called the pick “puzzling,” “risky,” and an “overcorrection,” while Sporting News labeled it a reach. SI.com’s Justin Melo went even further, calling it one of the most controversial picks of the draft.
Still, head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone stood by the move.
So far, that belief has held up.
Boerkircher came into the league with a reputation built mostly on blocking at Texas A&M, but he’s shown he can do damage as a receiver too. In eight games, he has nine catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 16 yards per reception. His production has picked up lately, too.
That surge showed up in a big way against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 8, when he hauled in a 31-yard touchdown from Trevor Lawrence during Jacksonville’s 42-7 win. He followed that with two catches for 61 yards against the Baltimore Ravens, including a career-long 52-yard grab that helped set up the Jaguars’ first touchdown in a 33-10 victory.
PFF pointed directly to that stretch, noting that Boerkircher piled up 92 yards on just three receptions over those two games.
None of that completely erases the draft-day debate about whether Jacksonville could have waited longer to take him. But it does strengthen the case that the Jaguars saw something others missed. Boerkircher is already carving out a real role in the offense, helping as a blocker while offering far more as a pass catcher than his college numbers hinted at.
And with Jacksonville sitting at 6-2 and scoring 28.6 points per game, he’s become part of the group pushing the Jaguars into AFC contender territory. For a pick that drew so much criticism in the spring, that’s a pretty sharp response.
In Other News...
Jaguars Injury Report Leaves One Big Week 10 Question
Thursdays injury report offered the Jaguars a more encouraging look as they moved through practice ahead of their matchup with the Titans. Several Jacksonville players were listed as limited or non-participants, but the overall picture pointed in a better direction, with some key names getting back on the field and giving the team a clearer sense of where things stand entering the week.
Tennessees report told a much harsher story, with multiple starters already ruled out and the roster looking thin on both sides of the ball. For Jacksonville, the bigger question now is how much of that progress turns into availability by game time, especially with one important situation still hanging over the week. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars GM Defends The Risk Behind Jacksonvilles Trade Deadline Swings
James Gladstone spent the week defending the Jaguars trade deadline approach, and his message was pretty clear: the moves for Jessie Bates and Jordan Davis were made to make Jacksonville better now, not as some desperate all-in gamble. The Jaguars gave up meaningful draft capital, including early-round picks in 2027 and later selections in 2028 and 2029, but Gladstone framed the deals as part of a broader team-building plan rather than a break from it.
He also pushed back on the idea that the Jaguars are simply tossing future picks aside. Jacksonville still values draft capital, Gladstone said, but the front office is trying to manage it more flexibly by leaning on compensatory picks and keeping room to maneuver. In other words, the Jaguars are betting they can improve the roster without losing sight of the long game, even if the price of doing business looks steep right now. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Lawrence Could Make Jaguars Fans Notice This Week 10 Stack
With a few notable fantasy regulars sidelined this week, the DFS board has opened up in a way that can make the right Jaguars stack stand out. Trevor Lawrence gets a chance to benefit from a matchup that looks friendlier than usual, and in a week when managers are hunting for value, Jacksonvilles passing game has enough moving parts to draw real attention. Parker Washington and Brenton Strange are among the names that can help make the construction work, especially with opportunity often mattering more than reputation in this part of the season.
The appeal is not just Lawrence in a vacuum, but how the pieces around him could fit together if Jacksonville leans into the passing game. With injuries thinning out other options across the league, the Jaguars have become part of the conversation for lineups looking to balance safety and upside, and that puts extra focus on how the offense distributes targets. For fantasy players, the question is whether this is the week Lawrence and company turn a decent setup into a lineup-winning stack. [Read more 🡒]