2 All-Important Jaguars to Watch at 2026 Training Camp
2026 NFL training camps are about to kick off around the league, turning America’s attention back from fútbol to football. Travis and I will be out at the Miller Electric Center throughout the next few weeks to report back on your Jacksonville Jaguars. While he monitors several positional battles , I’ll be keeping an eye on two players in particular. Jacksonville’s skill player lineup for 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs) looks impressive on paper. The starting receivers will be Brian Thomas Jr. , Parker Washington , and Jakobi Meyers ; the top tight end will be Brenton Strange ; and the lead running back role will rotate between Bhayshul Tuten , Chris Rodriguez Jr. , and LeQuint Allen Jr. The Jaguars are equipped for lighter packages as well. 10 personnel (1 RB, 0 TEs, 4 WRs) would allow Travis Hunter to play alongside those aforementioned wideouts, while 21 personnel (2 RBs, 1 TE, 2 WRs) — specifically, “pony” packages that field two receiving-capable backs as opposed to a tailback and a fullback — is another potential wrinkle to create schematic advantages. But what about when the offense wants to put heavier bodies on the field? Liam Coen could experiment with jumbo packages that add an extra offensive lineman to the equation, as he did on 108 snaps (sixth-most in the NFL) in his first year as Jaguars head coach. But that was more so a necessity than a luxury. About halfway through the 2025 season, Strange was placed on injured reserve, Hunter Long and Quintin Morris missed five combined games, and Johnny Mundt was at one point a healthy scratch. A lack of tight end availability gave way to more jumbo package opportunities. Plays with extra offensive linemen will still be part of Coen’s offense, but he’ll want to scale back those looks in favor of ones with multiple tight ends. The return of 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs, 2 WRs) and 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TEs, 1 WR) to a league ruled by three-receiver sets is perhaps the top schematic story of this offseason. Jacksonville re-signed Morris before selecting two tight ends, Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol, in a draft that saw 22 tight ends in total go off the board (most since 2002). As a nearly-25-year-old prospect with just 38 career receptions, the selection of Boerkircher at No. 56 overall originally caught observers off guard. He’s an intriguing athlete, sure, but a near-top-50 selection? For someone who projects to be a No. 2 tight end? Really? Really. The Jags liked Morris enough to bring him back, and Long is still on the roster, but they’re hoping to see Boerkircher earn a Week 1 role as a complementary piece to Strange. During OTAs in June, Coen hinted toward a larger receiving workload for his top tight end so long as Boerkircher can hold up as a blocker. “As much as man, we love Brenton Strange blocking and he’s so tough, he wants to do it, he’s physical, he’ll bite you. He also missed some time last year … when you look at when he has production what our record looks like, it’s kind of interesting to see. And so, allowing Brenton to continue to do what he does well, but also to maybe take some of that wear and tear, some of the pounding that it takes when you’re blocking the Travon Walkers of the world and Josh Hines-Allens of the world, getting him matched up more on those linebackers and safeties and now he’s an advantage for us. Now we have an edge. So, we always feel good about Strange blocking at the point of attack, but we needed some help there. Being able to provide Strange an option to go maybe split out or go block other people that maybe keep him out of some of those one-on-one big situations, I think that’s going to help us tremendously.” I’m prepared to be underwhelmed by Boerkircher’s impact in the pass game for the duration of his rookie season. However, if he can hold his own in the trenches as early as training camp, I’ll feel much more comfortable about the flexibility of Coen’s offense entering the 2026 season. At the NFL’s annual l [... truncated ...]
