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Reviewing the Jaguars’ rookie class at the bye
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- Reviewing the Jaguars’ rookie class at the bye
With the Jacksonville Jaguars on their bye week, it's a good time to assess how this year's draft class has performed so far this season.
The Jaguars received a fair amount of criticism for the rookies they drafted this spring, particularly relating to tight end Nate Boerkircher, who many analysts claimed was selected much higher than he should have been. Emmanuel Pregnon was considered a draft steal, and the rest were mostly seen as underwhelming .
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Six games into the season, were the analysts proven right? Here is a pick-by-pick look at how the 2026 draft class has been performing.
TE Nate Boerkircher
Boerkircher has already carved out a legitimate role rather than sitting as a developmental tight end. He's played 183 offensive snaps, roughly half of Jacksonville's total, with two starts. He has six catches on eight targets for 52 yards, with no drops and a touchdown. He has seen most of his snaps come as a blocker.
He may not be flashy enough to make people forget the questions about taking him at No. 56, but he's already functioning as a real TE2, and playing nearly half the offensive snaps. That's meaningful immediate contribution, and signals that he's doing exactly what the Jaguars hoped he would so far.
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DT Albert Regis
Regis has had a much more limited role to start the season. He has recorded just two tackles , both assists, and was inactive against New England with an elbow injury and again against Philadelphia and Houston when healthy.
In college, Regis was graded especially well against the run. But because Jacksonville's run defense has been so dominant without needing much from him, there may not have been much pressure to force him onto the field early. Liam Coen has also said that this is a position where development can take time.
G Emmanuel Pregnon
Pregnon is arguably one of the biggest standouts from this year's draft class. He won the starting left guard job before Week 1, and was the only 2026 rookie listed as a starter on Jacksonville's initial depth chart. He has since started all five games and played all 382 offensive snaps.
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His performance has held up reasonably well for a rookie, particularly considering he has yet to allow a sack. But he hasn't been dominant. He has surrendered 12 pressures and been flagged six times through six games, with some uneven performances in pass protection. Still, getting a rookie third-rounder who can simply step into the offensive line and play every snap is a very encouraging return.
S Jalen Huskey
Huskey has yet to play a defensive snap. He has logged only three special-teams snaps and has spent most weeks inactive. Jacksonville's depth at safety makes this understandable — Antonio Johnson, Eric Murray, Rayuan Lane and others have been ahead of him. He may have the opportunity to make a bigger impact later in the season if one of the starters gets injured, or contribute more on special teams.
DE Wesley Williams
Williams made the 53-man roster, but he has been inactive for each of Jacksonville's first five games. Jacksonville has Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker at the top of the edge group, with Williams behind Danny Striggow and Bryan Thomas Jr. on the depth chart. He has a spot on the roster, but his role for now seems to be largely developmental.
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TE Tanner Koziol
Koziol was inactive for Weeks 1 and 2, then became active beginning in Week 3. Through five games, he has appeared in three of them, playing 29 offensive snaps and 15 special-teams snaps. He has not recorded a catch . He is TE4 on the depth chart, behind Boerkircher, Brenton Strange, and Quintin Morris, and while he has started getting onto the field, there isn't enough work to say much about him yet.
WR Josh Cameron
Cameron may be the biggest surprise of this year's draft class. He has appeared in all six games and has eight catches on 10 targets for 117 yards and two touchdowns. He's averaging 14.6 yards per reception, has zero drops, and six of his eight receptions have gone for first downs. And he's carved out a sizable role for himself, with 132 offensive snaps and 93 special-teams snaps. He had a 90-yard kickoff-return touchdown against Philadelphia, though it was ultimately erased by penalties.
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Despite being a sixth-round receiver, Cameron has already become an offensive contributor and a major special-teams piece.
WR C.J. Williams
Williams has appeared in only one game , logging 10 offensive snaps and six special-teams snaps, without a target or reception, and has otherwise been inactive. Cameron has clearly moved ahead of him in the rookie-WR race, but six weeks is also nowhere near enough to write Williams off completely.
DE Zach Durfee
Durfee has not played because of injury. Jacksonville placed him on IR with a designation to return when it set the 53-man roster. He suffered an upper-body injury after a promising start to training camp, and will be a player to watch once healthy.
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LB Parker Hughes
Hughes went on injured reserve Aug. 17, before the regular season, and has not played. He is out for the season.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Reviewing the Jaguars' rookie class at the bye
