{"id":864180,"date":"2026-04-11T19:07:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T19:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864180\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T19:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T19:07:03","slug":"nfl-analyst-expects-jaguars-to-target-surprise-need-early-in-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864180\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL analyst expects Jaguars to target surprise need early in NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jacksonville Jaguars have several pressing needs<\/a> ahead of the NFL Draft. Tight end isn’t one of them due to the presence of Brenton Strange. Having said that, Jacksonville could add reinforcements at the position, as you could never have too many good players. <\/p>\n

But even though tight end doesn’t appear to be at the top of their priority list, an NFL analyst expects the Jags to address the position early in the draft. <\/p>\n

The Jaguars are expected to go tight end on Day 2 in spite of Brenton Strange<\/p>\n

Jordan Reid of ESPN shared things he’s hearing about different NFL teams<\/a> ahead of the draft. For the Jaguars, he expects general manager James Glastone to add a player that can make an impact right out of the gate, adding that he expects him to add reinforcements at defensive tackle and tight end in Rounds 2 and 3.<\/p>\n

“Consistent with what the Rams did when he was there, Gladstone has not used top-30 visits in Jacksonville,” Reid wrote. “I expect him and the Jaguars to continue their trend of picking players who can play right away on Day 2.”<\/p>\n

While it’s no secret that defensive tackle is a huge need for Jacksonville<\/a>, tight end hasn’t been brought up much as a roster void, and understandably so. Brenton Strange posted career numbers in 2025 despite the fact that he missed five games. Moreover, the Jags signed Quintin Morris to a one-year deal.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, both Strange and Morris, along with fellow tight end Hunter Long, are scheduled to become free agents in 2027, so the Jaguars may indeed need to make additions at the position in the NFL Draft. <\/p>\n

If Jacskonville wanted a tight end on Day 2 (Rounds 2 and 3), Max Klare would make sense. According to Lance Zierlein of NFL Media, the former Ohio State Buckeye possesses below-average hands and tracking skills<\/a>. Moreover, his blocking leaves a bit to be desired. On the other hand, his athleticism and ability to create separation make him capable of earning volume targets at the NFL level.<\/p>\n

Zeirlien gives Klare a Round 3 grade, citing an AFC executive who believes he could be as productive as Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid despite not having the same catching skills.<\/p>\n

The Jaguars have three picks in Round 3<\/a>. If Klare is still available at that point of the draft, they could use one of them on him. <\/p>\n

Why the Jaguars may not prioritize the tight end position in the draft<\/p>\n

Leaving aside that the Jaguars like their tight ends to contribute as blockers, they may not target Max Klare or add reinforcements at the position early in the draft for a handful of reasons. For starters, the interior defensive line and the pass rush are bigger needs than tight end. <\/p>\n

On top of that, the Jaguars are working on an extension with Brenton Strange. Sure, it wouldn’t hurt to add depth at tight end, but they wouldn’t be in the market for a TE1 if they strike a deal. On the other hand, they could use insurance on the off chance they can’t reach an agreement, and he walks in 2027.<\/p>\n

Back in 2023, Jacksonville applied the franchise tag on Evan Engram but still used a second-round pick on Strange, even though Engram eventually agreed to a multi-year deal. Of course, things are different now, but the team’s brass won’t pass up the chance to bolster the tight end room if the opportunity arises.<\/p>\n

Tight end isn’t a pressing need for the Jaguars, but they’re most definitely in a position to bolster the position early in the draft. It doesn’t seem likely, but it shouldnt’ be ruled out either. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Jacksonville Jaguars have several pressing needs ahead of the NFL Draft. Tight end isn’t one of them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2060],"tags":[7,212,125,2401,213,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-864180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville-jaguars","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-jacksonville","10":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","11":"tag-jacksonvillejaguars","12":"tag-jaguars","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116387646455139865","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}