The Jacksonville Jaguars made waves nationally with their first selection in April’s NFL Draft. The Jaguars selected Texas A&M TE Nate Boerkircher in the second round with the No. 56 overall pick. And the reactions largely were not complimentary.

The Jags had plenty of needs elsewhere, and there was plenty of talent available there to address them. Pass rush help. A candidate to replace Devin Lloyd, who bolted for Carolina in free agency. Another running back to help soften the blow of losing Travis Etienne to New Orleans. Defensive line depth, among other areas.

Tabbing a No. 2 tight end wasn’t on many people’s lists. Outside of general manager James Gladstone’s that is.

However, according to head coach Liam Coen, the hope and belief is that Boerkircher will contribute while also freeing up his position mate in the process.

Coen was asked at his press conference on Monday his thoughts about why offensive coordindator Grant Udinski said he was going to change the offense with Boerkircher. Per Coen, the rookie’s presence will make things easier on tight end Brenton Strange.

Liam Coen says rookie TE Nate Boerkircher can help unlock Brenton Strange in Jacksonville’s offense

“Yeah, I just think it allows some of our — similar to what Jakobi (Meyers) did — allowing not just himself to come get integrated and do what he does well, but also what it allows for the other guys to do,” Coen said.

“As much as we love Brenton Strange, blocking, and he’s so tough. He wants to do it. He’s physical, he’ll bite you. We also missed some time last year in which our record — and you look at when he has production and what our record looks like is kind of interesting to see.

“And so, allowing Brenton to continue to do what he does well but also maybe to take some of that wear and tear, some of the pounding that it takes when you’re blocking the Trayvon Walkers of the world, the 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, and 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.

To be somewhat fair, the Jaguars weren’t the only team to invest early in extra tight end help. The Los Angeles Rams did the same with the pick of Max Klare in the second round, as did Houston with Marlin Klein.

Coen’s comments are fair. Being able to open things up for Strange to help get to the second level when he and Boerkircher line up together will be a help to the running game. And Boerkircher being able to hold his own will free up Strange in the passing game potentially as well. Strange has gradually produced more in each of his three seasons in Jacksonville, so there’s hope that 2026 could be a particularly strong one for the former Penn State product.

But there needs to be such a ripple effect, because this is going to be a pick that will be highlighted for Gladstone for years to come.