At the midway point of the 2026 season, the Jaguars’ rookie class has already given the team a little bit of everything: real production, patient development, a few players still waiting for their turn, and a couple of rookies who have barely seen the field at all.
That’s the nature of a high-volume draft. Jacksonville made 10 picks and also kept one undrafted free agent on the 53-man roster, and the group is already shaping the roster in different ways.
Some rookies are helping right away. Others are stuck behind veterans, injuries, or both.
A few are simply biding their time.
The clearest immediate impact has come from Emmanuel Pregnon, who has spent every snap at left guard this season. He won the starting job out of training camp and has held it ever since, logging eight straight starts.
There have been some penalty issues along the way, but the Jaguars have also gotten steady play from him more often than not. He’s been the rookie of the year on this roster so far, and his future looks bright beyond 2026.
Pregnon and Walker Little have also given Jacksonville something encouraging on the left side in recent weeks. With Anton Harrison out for the season, the Jaguars should feel good about what they have there.
Another rookie making a real case for himself is Josh Cameron. The Day 3 pick has caught nine passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns, but his value goes well beyond the box score.
He has been a key special teams contributor and a useful piece in the Jaguars’ running game when they use 12 and 13 personnel. Even if the targets are limited, Cameron has already shown he can fill multiple roles, and that kind of versatility matters.
The Jaguars also got a strong early return from Nate Boerkircher at No. 56 overall, even if the selection drew plenty of noise at the time. He has answered with nine catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and the efficiency has stood out.
Next Gen Stats put it this way: "Boerkircher leads tight ends with 12.0 yards per target and is fourth among tight ends with 9.1 air yards per target (minimum 10 targets). Despite his deeper depth of target and league-high 33.3% tight window target rate (<1 yard of separation), he has caught 9 of his 12 targets (75.0%) for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
His average route speed of 12.95 miles per hour is 9th among tight ends with at least 75 routes run."
Tanner Koziol is another rookie trending upward. He didn’t play much early, but his role has grown in recent weeks.
He has gone from a healthy scratch on game day to a meaningful part of the Jaguars’ multiple-tight end packages, and he has even had a few passes thrown his way lately. That kind of usage suggests the arrow is pointing up for the athletic fifth-round tight end.
On defense, Bryan Thomas Jr. has carved out a real job as the No. 4 defensive end behind Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. The lone undrafted free agent to make the roster has also filled a similar pass-rush role to second-year defensive end Danny Striggow, and he’s been part of the mix with Dennis Gardeck on passing downs. That said, his spot could become shakier once BJ Green returns.
Jalen Huskey has started to get some run after spending the first month as a healthy scratch. He has appeared in three of the last four games and logged the first 37 defensive snaps of his career over the last two weeks against the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens.
In that stretch, he recorded a sack and three combined tackles. Still, the trade for Jessie Bates III makes it look like Huskey may be back to being inactive more often than not.
Wesley Williams has not yet been active as a rookie, despite making the 53-man roster after the Jaguars traded up in the fourth round to get him. He was a healthy scratch for the first eight games, and while the team clearly has hopes for him, he’s one of several young defenders who may have to wait their turn. With BJ Green eventually returning from injured reserve, it’s hard to see much of a path for Williams this season unless injuries hit at defensive end.
CJ Williams is in a similar spot. He was active and played in Week 1, but since then he has mostly been inactive as Jacksonville has leaned on four full-time receivers on most game days.
The Jaguars have also kept four tight ends active in many cases, and Travis Hunter can function as a fifth receiver when needed. Unless there’s an injury at wideout, Williams may not see much more action this year.
The same patient theme applies to the injured rookies. Parker Hughes, Jacksonville’s final seventh-round pick, was placed on injured reserve this offseason and cannot play this year.
Zach Durfee, the other seventh-rounder, was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return at the end of training camp and has spent his rookie season there so far. His practice window still hasn’t been opened.
The third-round pick, Regis, has had a quieter stretch, though he did log a career-high 20-plus snaps against the Ravens on Thursday Night Football and played well in his most extended action in the middle of the defense. Even so, his path to steady playing time looks complicated. The Jaguars are expected to have Davon Godchaux make his debut at defensive tackle in Week 10 against the Tennessee Titans, and with Arik Armstead, Ruke Orhorhoro, and Matt Dickerson already in the rotation, there may not be many snaps left to go around.
That’s where the rookie class stands at the halfway mark: a few clear hits, a few players still waiting, and a roster that’s already being shaped by how these first-year guys fit into the bigger picture.
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