Back
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are at the halfway point of the 2026 season, which makes it the perfect time to take a look at the Jaguars' rookie class.
As Jaguars general manager James Gladstone has pointed out, the Jaguars value draft picks and high-volume classes, even if they also value using picks at all different points of the NFL calendar as well. The Jaguars' 2026 class was one of those high-volume classes, with the Jaguars making 10 picks and also keeping one undrafted free agent on the 53-man roster.
So, where does each rookie stand at the midseason point? We take a look below with the latest rookie stock report.
We have not added these two rookies to most rookie power rankings, but it is still worth taking a look at their time with the Jaguars halfway through 2026. Linebacker Parker Hughes, the Jaguars' final pick in the seventh-round, was placed on injured reserve this offseason and thus can not play this year.
Zach Durfee, the Jaguars' other seventh-round selection, was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return at the end of training camp, and he has spent his rookie season on injured reserve thus far as a result. He has not yet had his practice window opened to begin his way back from the injured reserve list.
The Jaguars' fourth-round pick has not yet been active as a rookie, serving as a healthy scratch for the first eight games of the season after making the 53-man roster out of training camp. The Jaguars traded up in the fourth-round to select Williams and clearly have high hopes for him moving forward, but he would be one of several young defenders who will have had to bide their time to get on the field.
With that said, the eventual return of BJ Green from injured reserve makes it seem unlikely we see Williams this season unless the Jaguars get some injuries at the defensive end position. We will be able to get more of a look at him when next year's offseason program rolls around.
CJ Williams can basically copy-and-paste and everything we said above for Wesley Williams. He was at least active and got some playing time in Week 1, but otherwise the Jaguars have had CJ Williams inactive this season as they have rolled with just four full-time receivers on most game days. Part of this is because they also have been carrying four tight ends most games, while Travis Hunter can also act as a fifth receiver for depth purposes. It is unlikely we see Williams unless there is an injury at wide receiver.
Jalen Huskey spent the first month sidelined as a healthy scratch, but he has played in three of the last four games and played his first 37 defensive snaps of his career in the last two weeks against the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens. Huskey recorded a sack and three combined tackles in the process, giving him some solid flashes in his first chance at playing time this season. With that said, the trade for Jessie Bates III makes it seem like Huskey is once again set to be a healthy scratch on game day more often than not.
The Jaguars' third-round pick did not play a ton of snaps over the last month, but he did play a career-high 20+ snaps against the Ravens on Thursday Night Football. He played well in his first extended run in the middle of the Jaguars' defense, though it could be tough for him to get much playing time moving forward. Regis is set to be one of the players most impacted by the Jaguars' trade deadline moves, which makes Week 9 likely the biggest stage he will get this season.
Perhaps Regis is active against the Tennessee Titans in Week 10, but the Jaguars are set to have Davon Godchaux still make his debut at defensive tackle. The Jaguars often have four defensive tackles active, and you can consider Arik Armstead, Ruke Orhorhoro, and Matt Dickerson already accounted for as well.
Tanner Koziol did not play much at the start of the season, but he is starting to see more and more snaps in recent weeks. Koziol could easily rise a few spots on these rankings depending on how the Jaguars deploy him down the stretch, but he went from a game day healthy scratch to a real part of their multiple-tight end sets. He has even had a few passes thrown his way in the last few weeks as a result, which indicates that the arrow could be pointing up on the Jaguars' athletic fifth-round tight end moving forward.
The lone undrafted free agent to make the roster this season, Bryan Thomas Jr. has played a real role as the No. 4 defensive end in the Jaguars' rotation behind Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. He has had a very similar role as second-year defensive end Danny Striggow, serving as the top backups behind Hines-Allen and Walker, as well as linebacker Dennis Gardeck on passing downs. There does exist the possibility that he could be inactive moving forward, too, since BJ Green is returning eventually.
Josh Cameron has been a home run Day 3 pick for the Jaguars, catching nine passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns while also serving as a key special teamer and a key part of the Jaguars' running game in 12 and 13 personnel sets. Cameron has played a very real role in the Jaguars' offensive plans, even if the ball is not going his way all that often. It will be fascinating to see what he develops into, because he has already proven to be a versatile and high-ceiling option for the Jaguars, which is always a win on Day 3.
The Jaguars made a lot of waves when they selected Nate Boerkircher at No. 56 overall (for some reason). Yes, it was a "reach" by the consensus, but the Jaguars were clearly a team looking to shift toward more 12 and 13 personnel, and the No. 56 pick oddly got treated like the Jaguars just spent a top-10 pick on a blocking tight end. Boerkircher has caught nine passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, making him an efficient and effective target despite being a low-volume one.
How about this from Next Gen Stats when it comes to the rookie tight end: "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."
Our pick for the Jaguars' rookie of the year to this point, Emmanuel Pregnon has spent each snap at left guard for the Jaguars this season. He has had some issues with penalties here and there, but the Jaguars have also seen him play some solid football in eight straight starts at the left guard position after winning the starting job coming out of training camp. Pregnon has been rock-solid for the Jaguars more often than not as a rookie, and he has a big future beyond 2026.
Pregnon and left tackle Walker Little have done some good things on the left side in recent weeks, and the Jaguars should feel good about the duo holding down the fort on that side of the line after the loss of Anton Harrison for the season.
Back
Top
| Privacy Statement Terms of Service Contact |
Refresh
|
All the best breaking news stories from Apex Football Lite. Optimised for feature phones and low end Android devices, Apex Football Lite helps users with legacy devices and poor network connectivity access the latest football news and live scores. Particularly relevant for breaking football news in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.