About a year ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars brought one of the sport’s most famous athletes into its building.
The arrival of former Heisman Trophy winner and two-way phenom Travis Hunter was, in a word, lit.
Jacksonville’s 2026 rookie minicamp is about to kick off, and although there isn’t a shiny new top-2 pick — or even top-50 pick — to praise effusively,
there’s still plenty to be excited about!
Let’s take a moment to get to know the rookies whom we’ll be closely monitoring throughout the next several months.
Here are three reasons the Jaguars drafted each one.
Nate Boerkircher
TE | Texas A&M | 56th overall pick
One Stat
- Ranked third among 35 TE prospects with a 142.1 passer rating when targeted in 2025 (via SIS)
One Quote
Offensive coordinator Grant Udinksi: “He brings a lot really in all phases of the game. Before you even talk about what he does on the field, you talk about the guy off the field, and he’s really our type of guy, with the way he approaches football, approaches preparation. On the field, he’ll probably be labeled a little bit as a blocker because of his production at A&M, but I think he’s more than that and has capabilities to continue to grow in our offense and then unlock some of what Brenton [Strange] and some of our other tight ends and receivers can do in the pass game as well.”
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Albert Regis
DT | Texas A&M | 81st overall pick
One Stat
- Ranked second among 42 DT prospects with a 7% share of team tackles in 2025 (via SIS)
One Quote
Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile: “Just love his play style, super tough kid. When you turn the tape on, watching Albert, he’s a nose guard that plays sideline to sideline, that’s the first thing that jumps out. He’s constantly running around, making plays, high-effort guy, so he fits our DNA perfectly here. He comes from a great program, he’s been coached really really well, been in a super competitve environment the past five years, so in every which way he’s a perfect fit.”
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Emmanuel Pregnon
G | Oregon | 88th overall pick
One Stat
- Ranked second among 48 IOL prospects with 7.2 yards per carry when run behind in gap-blocking schemes in 2025 (via SIS)
One Quote
Head coach Liam Coen: “You look at the physical attributes, the stuff we can’t coach, and then a guy that wasn’t a mental error guy, wasn’t somebody that couldn’t handle all of what Oregon was able to do in their system, checking and killing plays, audibles, alerts, all of those kinds of things that you’re hunting up from a, ‘Okay, can he go and do that at this level?’ We believe so. And you look at in the pass pro and in the run game, getting bigger, I like that.”
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Jalen Huskey
DB | Maryland | 100th overall pick
One Stat
- Ranked eighth among 33 S prospects with a 62% deserved catch rate allowed in 2025 (via SIS)
One Quote
Gladstone: “We talked a little bit about the bigger personnel groupings becoming a trend. To combat that, you’re getting hybrid safety/corners and bigger bodies at the position that can help match that a little bit more effectively. Something that we prioritize not only on the defensive back end but across the entire roster is versatility. He certainly offers that, but at the same time, his play style is one that is extremely aggressive and tough and physical. That really captured our attention and our hearts, and at the same time, he touches the football.”
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Wesley Williams
EDGE | Duke | 119th overall pick
One Stat
- Ranked first among 45 EDGE prospects with a 192 adjusted tackle depth score in 2025 (via SIS)
One Quote
Campanile: “Love his play style, he’s a super physical kid, and he’s got a lot of positional flexibility … gives us the chance to kind of move him around and move some other pieces around. We just love his play style. He’s a run-and-hit guy. And that’s one of the things that’s a recurring theme with all the guys we’ve taken. They love to hit, they love contact, and we’re always looking for guys that seek contact.”
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Tanner Koziol
TE | Houston | 164th overall pick
One Stat
- Led the FBS with 168 combined catches in the 2024 and 2025 seasons (via The Athletic’s Dane Brugler)
One Quote
Director of College Scouting Brian Hill: “Tanner, he’s got a huge wingspan, huge target down the seam for us. I’ve seen his progression since Ball State. He definitely stands out at practice, he’s 6’ 6”, all of that. I think he’s the most targeted tight end in PFF history, so he’s had a lot of work as a receiver, and it definitely stands out at the Senior Bowl. He had a really good Senior Bowl. Guys like that where they’re flexed out and aligned in the slot, tight ends like that, they can improve as blockers when they’re more reduced inside inline, so we’re expecting that out of him. And obviously we’ve got a great Strength & Performance staff, get him stronger in the weight room, and improve in the blocking side.”
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Josh Cameron
WR | Baylor | 191st overall pick
One Stat
- Ranked seventh among 432 FBS players with 16 contested catches in 2025 (via PFF)
One Quote
Cameron: “Yeah, from me, you’re going to get a physical tough receiver. Someone who likes to do the dirty work, someone who likes to do it all, and someone who is really, I guess you can say, a unicorn. I’m not your stereotypical receiver body type wise. But I think that works in my favor to where you can put and plug me into so many different positions. And I’m just that guy who can really do it all type deal. I bring my special teams ability as well. And so, I’m someone who can, like I said, do it all.”
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CJ Williams
WR | Stanford | 203th overall pick
One Stat
- First Cardinal with three consecutive 100-yard receiving games since 2004 (via Stanford PR)
One Quote
Gladstone: “He fits the bill for a lot of the things that I have long appreciated in wide receiver play. With both the guys that we drafted at the position, they are extremely tough. Extremely good blockers, they are extremely good at attacking the football. Really excited about both him and Josh [Cameron] entering the fray.”
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Zach Durfee
EDGE | Washington | 233rd overall pick
One Stat
- Ranked third in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with 11.0 sacks in 2022 after joining Sioux Falls as a walk-on (via Jaguars PR)
One Quote
Gladstone: “Certainly excited to bring him into the organization, knowing that he’s got really a cool background, and one that is not all that different than some of the others that we drafted in overcoming the odds and earning their place. He was really, really effective in rushing the passer and creating disruption this past season.”
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Parker Hughes
LB | Middle Tennessee State | 240th overall pick
One Stat
- First Blue Raider with 100 tackles in a single season since 2013 (via MTSU PR)
One Quote
Gladstone: “Certainly think you can find quality players at a ton of different intervals, and we certainly had success towards the latter portion of drafts and also undrafted college free agency in Los Angeles, specifically at the linebacker position. But nonetheless, I think that instincts are certainly going to be something that reigns supreme in that space, knowing that a lot happens fast, and in the specific interest of Parker, that stands out in a real way.”
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Jaguars fans, is there anything you’ll be keeping your eye out for regarding reports coming out of this weekend’s rookie minicamp?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
