Nate Boerkircher

A second-round pick in the real draft, and the usage has not followed the pedigree. Six targets and four catches across five games, 1.7 points a game, with zeroes in weeks 2 and 3 of 2026 and a high of 4 points in week 5. That is the profile of a tight end who is on the field and not in the plan.

The depth chart explains part of it. Brenton Strange sits first in Jacksonville, and Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. combined for 42% of the targets in 2025, so the scraps behind them are thin. The coaching staff is not new to him, Liam Coen back as head coach and Grant Udinski back as play caller, so this is a scheme that has watched him all offseason and still put him second among the tight ends, with Tanner Koziol and Quintin Morris behind him. What hurts most is the gap against what we expected. Our preseason number was 64 points, built on 13 expected games, which works out to 4.9 a game. He is scoring a third of that, and no injury has even been in the way, he has played all five weeks.

There is no prior season to lean on here, so the case rests on talent and opportunity, and right now opportunity is saying no. The passing game ran 59% of situation-neutral plays as passes in 2025, so the volume exists in theory, but none of it has reached him. His bye in week 7 of 2026 is next on the calendar after week 6. Our board had him TE49 and 202nd overall, and he has not been worth it. Cut him for a tighter end with a path to targets and check back if Strange misses time.