Well… that was one of the NFL Drafts of all time.
Jacksonville marched to the beat of its own drum, as general manager James Gladstone and the team “reached” on several selections relative to consensus draft boards — including big reaches on four of their five top-125 picks.
According to Wide Left Football, the Jaguars ended up with this year’s lowest consensus big board draft “grade” with positional and needs adjustments applied.
The theme of Jacksonville’s 2026 draft, in Gladstone’s words, “was a higher volume of draft capital and ensuring we could prioritize guys that match and align with what I’ve spoken a lot about, which are the intangible elements, elements that don’t necessarily always lie on the surface but are beneath the hood. I think it’s very clear internally that we were able to do just that, and really excited about what lies in front.”
We’re collecting Jaguars fans’ draft grades here, but for a different perspective on how Jacksonville fared, we rounded up the following grades from national media outlets.
Check out Big Cat Country’s draft home page for our extensive coverage.
From Chad Reuter of NFL.com: B
Jacksonville traded its first-round pick this year to Cleveland to acquire Travis Hunter. His talent is undeniable, but the knee injury that ended his season in October illustrated the risk of giving up future draft capital, no matter how intriguing the prospect. The Jaguars reached a bit for Boerkircher in the second round and Regis and Huskey in the third, though the tight end’s athleticism, the defensive tackle’s constant hustle and the defensive back’s versatility could help them contribute as rookies. Jacksonville’s best Day 2 pick was Pregnon, who possesses the strength and agility to start at guard for years to come.
The Jaguars chose production over size in the fourth round, taking Williams instead of Dani Dennis-Sutton to bolster their pass rush. Koziol was a better value pick in the fifth round than Boerkircher was in the second. And in the seventh, they found Durfee, an athletic edge with injury issues. Jacksonville sent fourth- and sixth-round picks to Las Vegas last year for receiver Jakobi Meyers, who has become the backbone of the team’s passing offense, and then they spent two more picks at receiver on Saturday, picking up Cameron and Williams.
From Carter Bahns of CBS Sports: B-
Back-to-back Texas A&M products joined the Jaguars to open their draft, and the first of them was a bit puzzling. Nate Boerkircher is a strong blocker, which should help him carve out playing time early in his career. But the Jaguars already have Brenton Strange in the room and could have used their second-round pick to address more pressing needs. This is the team’s first selection of the draft, and it feels like Boerkircher was a name they circled ahead of time as someone likely to be available regardless of what happened from picks Nos. 1-55. Not only that, but Boerkircher was also the first of two tight ends the Jaguars took. Tanner Koziol is more of a receiving threat than Boerkircher, so at least they didn’t take identical prospects.
Jacksonville did ace its Emmanuel Pregnon pick in Round 3. The offensive line is far from the Jaguars’ weakest position, but how could they pass on a guard who some thought could have flown off the board on Day 1? That’s an awesome depth addition and the only thing keeping Jacksonville out of the Cs.
From Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN: C
Honestly, the Emmanuel Pregnon pick kept this grade from dipping even lower. … Nate Boerkircher was No. 127 on my final Big Board but went in Round 2. Last season was the first time he had more than six catches in a season, and he still had just 19. He’s an in-line blocker who can help spring some runs. But I would have rather seen an actual running back here … or a linebacker … or a defensive tackle. The Jaguars did get that defensive tackle with the next pick, but Albert Regis was the DT15 on my board. And with the last pick of Day 2, Jacksonville went way off the board for Jalen Huskey. I have concerns about this tackling ability, but he will bring ball skills. The versatile defensive back had 11 interceptions over the past three seasons; I had him graded as a safety.
Pregnon was a fantastic pick. He started for three different schools and saw time at both guard positions, and he’s a really good run blocker. At 6-foot-4 and 314 pounds, he can control defenders and move them out of the way, and then he gets to the second level to spring big plays. I had him as a borderline first-rounder — at worst, second-rounder — so I’d characterize this as a pretty massive steal late in Round 3.
I had linebacker as the team’s most pressing need after Devin Lloyd signed with the Panthers, but Parker Hughes was the only add there, down at No. 240. Coach Liam Coen could have used another running back beyond Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr., too. It stings to lose Travis Etienne Jr. in free agency. Yet, there weren’t any moves there.
From staff at PFF: D+
Highest-graded pick (2025): G Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon Ducks (86.7). Pregnon took a major leap in 2025, earning an 86.7 PFF grade across a career-high 910 snaps after never dipping below 625 snaps in any season. His 88.1 pass-blocking grade ranked seventh among FBS guards, and he allowed just one sack, two hits and two hurries on 471 pass-blocking snaps. He flashed high-end upside with 85th-percentile marks on true pass sets and elite production in zone schemes (98th percentile zone run-blocking grade).
From Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report: D
Unfortunately, the Jaguars didn’t exactly get great value with their first selection. Texas A&M’s Nate Boerkircher is widely viewed as an in-line blocking tight end. While he does have some untapped potential as a pass-catcher, he was the 185th-ranked prospect on the B/R board. The selection does look a little better when paired with Day-3 pick and pass-catching tight end Tanner Koziol.
The Jags reached again for undersized defensive tackle Albert Regis, the 191st-ranked player on the B/R board. However, they got much better value with Oregon lineman Emmanuel Pregnon and Maryland safety Jalen Huskey. “Jalen Huskey is the biggest sleeper at the safety position in this class,” Daniel Harms of the B/R Scouting Department wrote. Josh Cameron, who was a top-100 prospect on the B/R board, should give Trevor Lawrence another capable target. He represents one of the better values the Jags uncovered over draft weekend.
Of course, it’s clear that GM James Gladstone doesn’t care about perceived value. Based on value, though—and the fact that Hunter’s rookie season largely disappointed—it’s hard to love his approach.
From Matt Verderame and Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated: D
If this ends up being one of the better classes in 2026, general manager James Gladstone will be able to laugh at the criticism, but this is my lowest-rated team. On the surface, Boerkircher is a reach who projects as a pure “Y” tight end. Regis will provide depth and Pregnon is a good value as a third-rounder who could start this year or next. However, Huskey is another projection who may be limited to special teams. Without a pick on Thursday, the Jaguars were in a tough spot and they didn’t add enough on Friday to warrant a top grade.
From Danny Kelly of The Ringer: D
The Jags came into this year’s draft at a disadvantage after sending Cleveland their first-rounder as part of last year’s trade for Travis Hunter, but it’s tough to get excited about what the team did with their remaining picks, either. They got good value in grabbing Oregon guard Emmanuel Pregnon in the third round, and he offers starting potential for Jacksonville early in his career. But the rest of GM James Gladstone’s picks were either uninspiring or downright confusing: Second-round tight end Nate Boerkircher is a 24-year-old sixth-year senior who posted just 38 catches in his college career; third-round defensive tackle Albert Regis is a sawed-off, stout interior lineman who posted limited production (3.5 sacks and 11 TFL) over the last four seasons; and third-round cornerback Jalen Huskey lacks of top-end speed (he ran a 4.55-second 40-yard dash at his pro day, according to Dane Brugler). Overall, the Jaguars focused on lower value position groups while showing wild disregard for consensus pre-draft rankings (which was the case last year too). We’ll have to wait to find out if Gladstone and Co. are actually that much smarter than everyone else, but on the surface this looks like a really rough draft class.
From Nate Davis of USA Today: D
Is the bloom already off the rose after their surprising capture of the AFC South throne with a 13-win campaign in HC Liam Coen’s rookie year? They lost RB Travis Etienne and LB Devin Lloyd in free agency but didn’t seem compelled to replace either with a lofty pick this year, opting for a blocking tight end and D-line depth. Third-round G Emmanuel Pregnon is the most notable incoming rookie and the one likely to contribute significantly the earliest. But you can’t evaluate this draft, devoid of a first-round pick, without also considering last year’s decision to do a very expensive trade for Heisman Trophy-winning WR/CB Travis Hunter, who got hurt midway through his rookie year but never contributed much on either side of the ball despite his ballyhooed two-way skills. Hunter sold some jerseys, but it remains to be seen if the Jags vastly overpaid him going into this season, when he’s expected to play a lot more extensively on defense.
From Charles McDonald of Yahoo Sports: D-
The only thing saving this from being an F is the selection of Emmanuel Pregnon about 40 picks later than he was projected to go. Everyone else felt like a bizarre pick, especially trading up to the second round for a tight end that may end up being a blocker more than a receiver in Nate Boerkircher. The Jags picked so many players that maybe one ends up being a hit, but they had some massive reaches in relation to consensus opinion on the players they selected this weekend.
From Mike Jones of The Athletic: ‘Losers’
We saw GM James Gladstone make the splash move last season by trading up for Travis Hunter, whose quest to become a full-time two-way player is off to a shaky start. This year’s draft saw Gladstone deliver several head-scratching reaches. Tight end Nate Boerkircher (56th), defensive tackle Albert Regis (81st), safety Jalen Huskey (100th) and defensive end Wesley Williams (119th) were all projected to go anywhere from one to three rounds later than where the Jaguars selected them, which raises questions as to whether Gladstone and the Jags could have gotten more bang for their buck.
Not much love from the national folks. It’s interesting that several analysts said they would’ve given Jacksonville a lower grade if not for the Pregnon pick… but does the team really deserve credit for taking a falling player whom no team seemed to want?
Dane Brugler said on The Athletic Football Show, “I think one of the knocks against Pregnon was some of the interviews maybe didn’t go great- I mean, because he’s big, he moves well. So I think, how big will the learning curve be? And so the coaches getting him over the finish line where he’s able to really be someone you trust as a starter will be something important. And I think that’s something to watch in Jags training camp, is Pregnon. How many first-team reps is he getting? Just, what’s the progression for him over the month of August and what does that look like through the preseason?”
Seems like Pregnon has a decent amount of work ahead of him this offseason. At least he’ll be surrounded by intangibly rich teammates, right?
Jaguars fans, let us know in the comments below!
