2026 NFL Draft Grade: Jacksonville Jaguars -- D

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2026 NFL Draft with a clear set of priorities. Defensive tackle sat atop the board as a critical need, with tight end and cornerback both carrying high-level urgency. First-year general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen had ten selections to work with, including several acquired through trades with Detroit, Carolina, Kansas City, and Philadelphia. On paper, the volume suggested opportunity. In practice, the draft board fell in ways that forced Jacksonville to chase needs aggressively -- and the resulting class is one of the most perplexing of the cycle.

The Jaguars made ten picks and never once selected in the first round. That alone is not a death sentence; trading back to accumulate capital is a legitimate strategy. But what Gladstone and Coen did with those picks tells a story of a front office that consistently reached for players well before most evaluators had them rated, often at positions of need but rarely at prices that inspire confidence. The result is a D overall (49.7 numeric), weighed down by a series of Day 3 selections that look like major overdrafts.

Let's go pick by pick.

Pick 56 (Round 2) -- Nate Boerkircher, TE, Texas A&M Grade: C- (53.0)

The tight end need was real. With Brenton Strange and Hunter Long on the roster but no true difference-maker at the position, Boerkircher fills a hole. But this is where the reach pattern begins. Most draft boards had the Texas A&M product pegged as a mid-to-late third-round value. Jacksonville jumped in Round 2, leaving better-graded players at the same position -- including Max Klare, who went five picks later to the Rams -- on the board. Boerkircher is a willing blocker with enough receiving chops to work the seam in Coen's Shanahan-inspired scheme, but the draft capital feels heavy for a player who projects as a complementary piece rather than a primary weapon.

Pick 81 (Round 3) -- Albert Regis, DT, Texas A&M Grade: C- (53.0)

Acquired via trade from Detroit. This pick makes sense from a need perspective. Defensive tackle was Jacksonville's lone critical need, and Regis joins a room that includes Arik Armstead, DaVon Hamilton, and Ruke Orhorhoro. He brings the kind of interior mass that helped the Jaguars rank first in run defense in 2025. The issue is again the value. Regis was viewed by most evaluators as a late Day 3 prospect. Taking him in the top of Round 3 represents a massive reach, and the board was loaded with better-graded interior players like Kaleb Proctor, Gracen Halton, and Domonique Orange -- all of whom went later in the same round. Regis may develop into a rotational run-stuffer, but this is the kind of overdraft that makes a class hard to defend.

Pick 88 (Round 3) -- Emmanuel Pregnon, OG, Oregon Grade: A (85.0)

Finally, a win. Pregnon was widely regarded as one of the best interior linemen in the class, a top-65 prospect on most boards who slipped into the third round due to a deep offensive guard class. Jacksonville pounced, and the result is an A grade that represents the best value in their entire haul. Pregnon is a zone-scheme fit who can step in and compete for a starting job immediately alongside Ezra Cleveland and Patrick Mekari. This is exactly how you want to see a front office operate when a player falls: recognize the value, stop the slide, and fill a moderate need at guard with a potential long-term starter. The Jaguars got a second-round talent at pick 88.

Pick 100 (Round 3) -- Jalen Huskey, CB, Maryland Grade: C (56.0)

Acquired via compensatory pick from Detroit. Cornerback was a high need for Jacksonville, and Huskey is a long, athletic boundary corner who fits the press-man profile the defensive staff covets. He joins a corner room that needed an infusion after the departures and dead money hits of the past two offseasons. But this pick is another major reach. Huskey was a late-round projection on most boards, and Jacksonville took him in the top of Round 3. The board was still rich with better-graded corners -- Keionte Scott, Ephesians Prysock, and Malik Muhammad all went later in the same range. The need was real, but the price was steep.

Pick 119 (Round 4) -- Wesley Williams, EDGE, Duke Grade: D (43.0)

Acquired via trade from Carolina. Edge rusher was a medium-level need, but Jacksonville already has one of the better edge duos in the league with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. Williams is a nice developmental piece with length and quickness, but this is another massive reach -- he was a late-Day-3 projection from most evaluators. The Jaguars passed on several better-graded edge players like Joshua Josephs and Caden Curry, both of whom went later. This feels like a pick that could have been made three rounds later with similar results.

Pick 164 (Round 5) -- Tanner Koziol, TE, Houston Grade: C- (53.0)

The second tight end of the class. Koziol is a big-bodied receiving threat who can work the middle of the field, and the Jaguars clearly wanted to overhaul the tight end room. But after taking Boerkircher in Round 2, spending a fifth-rounder on another tight end who was projected as a late-round pick feels like a sunk-cost approach to the position. Better-graded tight ends like Dallen Bentley, Jack Endries, and Joe Royer were all still available and went later. Koziol has upside as a red-zone target, but the cumulative investment at tight end -- two picks, both early relative to their projected draft range -- is hard to justify.

Pick 191 (Round 6) -- Josh Cameron, WR, Baylor Grade: D (43.0)

Acquired via trade from Kansas City through New England. Wide receiver was a moderate need behind Brian Thomas Jr. and Jakobi Meyers. Cameron is a slot specialist with quickness and route nuance, but he was universally projected as a late-round or priority free agent. Deion Burks, who went 63 picks later to the Colts, was a significantly better-graded option still on the board. This is another pick where the Jaguars could have waited and likely gotten the same player.

Pick 203 (Round 6) -- CJ Williams, WR, Stanford Grade: D (43.0)

Acquired via trade from Philadelphia through Houston and Philadelphia. Back-to-back wide receivers in the sixth round, and this one is even harder to justify. Williams was a fringe draftable prospect on most boards, and Jacksonville took him nearly 270 spots before his projected slot. He has good size and contested-catch ability, but this is the kind of flier you take in Round 7 or as a UDFA priority. The Jaguars have now added two wide receivers on Day 3 when the board offered better-graded options at other positions of greater need.

Pick 233 (Round 7) -- Zach Durfee, EDGE, Washington Grade: D (43.0)

Acquired via trade from Detroit. Durfee is a high-motor edge player who was productive at Washington. He projects as a special-teamer and rotational depth piece. The value calculus is again problematic -- most boards had him as a true late-rounder, and he went well before his projected slot. At this point in the draft, the reach isn't as damaging, but it continues a theme.

Pick 240 (Round 7) -- Parker Hughes, LB, Middle Tennessee Grade: F (25.0)

This is the worst pick of the class. Linebacker was a need after Devin Lloyd departed in free agency, but Hughes was not the answer most evaluators were projecting. He was universally viewed as an undrafted free agent, and the Jaguars reached for him well before his projected slot. Worse, the need at linebacker could have been addressed with a player like Red Murdock or Aiden Fisher -- both of whom went later and had stronger profiles. Hughes' grade of F reflects a pick that addressed a need poorly with terrible value.

Overall Grade: D (49.7)

The best pick of the class is unquestionably Emmanuel Pregnon in the third round. That selection alone proves Gladstone and Coen can identify value when it falls to them. Pregnon is an NFL-ready guard who could start from Week 1 and anchor the interior of the offensive line for years. He represents the type of disciplined, board-aware drafting that this class desperately needed more of.

The worst pick is Parker Hughes in the seventh round. There is no sugarcoating it: this was a poor use of a pick on a player who likely would have been available after the draft as a priority free agent. It is a fitting symbol for a class where the Jaguars consistently reached, often by wide margins, for players at positions of need without extracting any surplus value.

Looking at the class as a whole, the Jaguars did address their critical need at defensive tackle with Albert Regis, their high need at tight end with Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol, and their high need at cornerback with Jalen Huskey. The problem is that every single one of those picks was made significantly earlier than the draft community had those players rated. When you consistently pay retail or above for every addition, the cumulative grade suffers.

The mid-round picks at wide receiver in Josh Cameron and CJ Williams feel like a team trying to add depth to a position that already had a rising star in Brian Thomas Jr. and a reliable veteran in Jakobi Meyers. The edge picks of Wesley Williams and Zach Durfee add bodies to a position that already had premium talent. The linebacker selection of Parker Hughes was simply a miss.

This is not a class that will define Gladstone's tenure in Jacksonville. He inherited a roster with cap constraints and free-agent departures, and he used his draft capital to plug holes. But the manner in which he did it -- consistently reaching for need over value -- is concerning. The Shanahan/McVay scheme that Liam Coen runs requires agile linemen, versatile tight ends, and receivers who can separate. Pregnon fits that mold perfectly. The rest of the class will need significant development to justify the draft capital spent.

For a team with a franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence and a defense that already has cornerstone pieces in Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, and Foyesade Oluokun, the margins matter. The Jaguars needed a draft that added immediate contributors and found value in the middle rounds. Instead, they got a class with one obvious win and nine picks that range from uncomfortable reaches to outright misses.

The verdict: A grade that reflects a front office still finding its footing. The potential is there -- Pregnon proves it. But the pattern of over-drafting at almost every turn drags this class down to a D.

Pick-by-Pick Summary