{"id":248862,"date":"2026-04-27T22:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/248862\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T22:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:53:25","slug":"nfl-insider-criticizes-jacksonville-jaguars-head-scratching-draft-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/248862\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Insider Criticizes Jacksonville Jaguars’ ‘Head-Scratching’ Draft Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> general manager James Gladstone is the NFL\u2019s youngest GM. After seeing how the Jaguars handled the 2026 NFL Draft, some might say his inexperience showed this past weekend. <\/p>\n

To be fair, this team was already behind the 8-ball, entering the weekend without a first-round draft pick after last year\u2019s trade up for Travis Hunter. Jacksonville\u2019s first draft selection didn\u2019t come until the 56th overall pick, when they selected tight end Nate Boerkircher, who was projected to be a fourth-round pick by NFL.com<\/a> and The Athletic\u2018s Dane Brugler<\/a>. <\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t get better from there, yet the Jaguars still had nine other selections to make. <\/p>\n

Recently, Essentially Sports\u2019 NFL insider Tony Pauline<\/a> called the Boerkircher pick \u201chead-scratching.\u201d He also called the team\u2019s fifth-round pick, DT Albert Regis, a \u201creach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen running back Jadarian Price came off the board with the last pick of Round 1, they stood pat and made tight end Nate Boerkircher their initial choice with the 56th selection. This is a head-scratcher to me as there were several better tight ends available, and I don\u2019t see Boerkircher as anything better than a No. 2 at the position. Tanner Koziol, the tight end they took in Round 5, was a better value in my opinion. Defensive tackle Albert Regis was also a reach in Round 3, as he has limited growth and upside potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essentially Sports\u2019 Tony Pauline on Jaguars\u2019 draft haul<\/p>\n

While some of their selections drew heavy criticism, Pauline liked a few of the team\u2019s other selections, but even some of those come with flaws. <\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other hand, Emmanuel Pregnon could turn into a steal from that same frame, as he\u2019s a dominant, drive-blocking guard who is relatively effective on the move,\u201d Pauline wrote. \u201cWhy did he slip? People at USC told me Pregnon could be difficult, while others say he\u2019s often slow picking up offensive schemes. Still, it was well worth a roll of the dice for Jacksonville. Safety Jalen Huskey and edge rusher Wesley Williams are two players I like, but I believe they would\u2019ve been available later in the draft. Josh Cameron could be a steal in Round 6, as he\u2019s sure-handed and productive, but he lacks speed and has a funky body type.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, Pauline gave the Jaguars a C- grade. Meanwhile, Brugler actually ranked the Jaguars dead-last, suggesting Jacksonville\u2019s draft class was the \u201cworst<\/a>\u201d in the NFL this year. <\/p>\n

Of course, NFL Draft grades mean nothing in the immediate aftermath. What really matters is how the class is viewed, one, two, or even five years from now, when we\u2019ll be able to better assess their actual impact rather than predicted outcomes. <\/p>\n

Related: 2026 NFL Draft Day 2: Winners, Losers from Rounds 2 and 3<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tDedicated NFL copywriter\/editor. My work has been found on Sportsnaut, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, MSN, Yahoo, and Minnesota Sports … More about Andrew Buller-Russ<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone is the NFL\u2019s youngest GM. After seeing how the Jaguars handled the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,121,117],"class_list":["post-248862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}