The Jacksonville Jaguars are done with training camp, and that means the rookie class is moving from evaluation mode to real-deal roster business.
With Week 1 around the corner, the big question is which first-year player is actually positioned to matter this season. Some of these rookies flashed.
A few made noise. One already has a starting job.
Here’s how the Jaguars’ 2026 draft class stacks up from least likely to most likely to make an impact right away.
Parker Hughes opened camp with some encouraging bursts, and his speed looked like it could have helped Heath Farwell’s special teams group. But his rookie year hit a wall after the first preseason game, when Jacksonville put him on injured reserve. He’ll be back next season, and he’s one to keep an eye on then.
Zach Durfee lands this low, but that doesn’t mean his camp was quiet. He was strong through the first half, missed a few practices, then came back and flashed some disruption against the Panthers last Friday. Still, if he’s battling undrafted rookie defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. for a roster spot, that tells you where he stands for now.
Wesley Williams showed some pop in camp and through the first two preseason games, but a big rookie-season breakthrough feels hard to picture. He looks like a backup and rotational piece who may not even be active on game days early in the year. The Jaguars seem to like the upside, but that doesn’t automatically mean a heavy workload.
Albert Regis had one of the more eye-catching moments of the preseason when he showed off his athleticism on a sack against Zach Wilson in the opener against the New Orleans Saints. He missed time after that and sat out last week against the Panthers, but there’s still something there. Even so, he doesn’t look close to the front of the line for snaps.
Tanner Koziol might be the hardest rookie to place. He’s clearly the No. 3 tight end and got work with Trevor Lawrence during camp, but the real question is how often the Jaguars actually use three-tight-end sets and whether Koziol can get enough passing-game opportunities to matter. That won’t really be answered until the games start.
Among the rookie receivers, CJ Williams stood out for one clear reason: he knows how to separate. He got open over the middle and looks like a natural player to grow behind Jakobi Meyers. The receiver room is crowded, so early snaps may be hard to come by, but injuries would put him in line for first-team work.
Jalen Huskey may have climbed more than any rookie over the course of camp. Entering training camp, it would have been easy to label him a red-shirt candidate because of the depth at safety.
After what he showed, though, it would not be a surprise to see him on the field this season. He played physical and was around the ball plenty in coverage.
Josh Cameron closed camp with the most explosive play of the final practice, and that fit the rest of his summer. He consistently threatened deep downfield and has quietly built a connection with Trevor Lawrence in that area.
He also blocked well in the run game and had some of the best hands of any Jaguars receiver in camp. He still has work to do against man coverage, but if he gets a chance, he should produce.
Nate Boerkircher looks set to play a lot this season, even if the passing-game volume doesn’t end up being huge. The Jaguars spent plenty of camp working on 12 personnel, and he appears to be the key piece there.
He’s a legitimate blocker, and the team believes he can help open things up for Brenton Strange as a receiver. His biggest value figures to come in the trenches, though he should get some targets now and then.
At the top of the list is the one rookie who is already locked into a Week 1 starting job: Emmanuel Pregnon. The third-round guard began camp as a backup, but injuries pushed him into the lineup a few weeks ago. He handled the opportunity well, impressed in the preseason opener against the Saints, and kept his spot even after Jacksonville got reinforcements back along the offensive line.
“I think he's done an awesome job. He plays hard, he's huge, he's strong, you can tell he cares, he plays super hard. I think that's the first thing you notice," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said about Pregnon on Wednesday.
"And then mentally, it's not been too much for him. Obviously, he is a rookie and there's still a lot to learn and there's looks every day that you can teach off of, but he's not lost at all.
He knows what he's doing. There's a lot of plays that we can clean up, but as far as knowing what he's doing and playing hard, he's got that down.
I think he's protected well. He's been moving people in the run game.
He's athletic. He's done an awesome job, so I think we got a bunch of guys up front that can play and play well and I love what I'm seeing from E-man.”
In Other News...
Jaguars Defense Just Got The Kind Of National Respect Fans Wanted
The Jaguars defensive front is starting to draw the kind of attention that usually comes only after a team makes life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, and ESPNs Mike Clay added to that buzz by slotting Jacksonvilles edge rushers fifth among NFL position groups entering the 2026 season. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker remain the headliners there, giving the Jaguars a pair of proven pass-rush threats at a spot that can tilt games every Sunday.
The praise did not stop on the edge, either. Clay also placed Jacksonvilles cornerback group in the top 10, with Travis Hunter, Jourdan Lewis, Montaric Brown and Jarrian Jones forming a secondary that looks increasingly deep, while the linebacker room landed just outside that top tier at No. 11. For a defense that has spent recent seasons trying to earn broader respect, the league-wide view suggests the Jaguars may finally be assembling the kind of unit that can carry more than its share of the load. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Face A Real Debate After ESPN's 2026 Warning
ESPNs Bill Barnwell put the Jaguars on a list of NFL teams he believes are most likely to decline in 2026, a reminder that last seasons progress may not be as easy to repeat as it first looked. The case against Jacksonville is rooted in the kind of warning signs evaluators always circle back to: a run of close wins, an unusually strong turnover margin and fumble recovery rate, plus a late-season schedule that may have been friendlier than it appeared.
Even so, the picture is not all doom and gloom for Jacksonville. Barnwell also pointed to some real positives, including continuity in the coaching structure and signs that the teams connections and overall health are improving. The debate now is whether the Jaguars are poised to build on that stability or whether last years better breaks are likely to regress, leaving them facing a tougher climb in 2026 than some around the league might expect. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Lawrence Knows Jaguars Are Entering A Very Different Stretch
As training camp winds down, Trevor Lawrence says the Jaguars are moving into a very different kind of stretch, one where the daily rhythm changes and every rep starts to feel tied to the opener. The focus has shifted from building the roster and grinding through camp to sharpening the details that matter most once the games count, with Cleveland looming as the first real test.
Before Jacksonville gets there, it still has one more exhibition to handle in the preseason finale against the Buccaneers on Aug. 28. Lawrences comments fit the moment the Jaguars are in now: camp is nearly over, the regular season is close enough to change how everyone prepares, and the next few days are about making sure the teams attention is exactly where it needs to be. [Read more 🡒]