- Best fit
- Redraft TE2 and deep dynasty benches.
- Move
- Draft.
- Risk
- The recommendation breaks if camp routes consolidate quickly around one Jaguars tight end.
- Better path
- Draft Strange only after stable tight end starters are gone.
Strange earned enough quarterback attention to stay in the late tight end conversation if the routes hold.
Jacksonville threw often enough in normal script for one trusted tight end route path to matter.
The price fits a conditional late swing, not a player to build the position around.
Jacksonville did not make tight end easier for fantasy drafters. It made the position more specific. Brenton Strange is the only name in the group who has already earned meaningful targets, Tanner Koziol is the deep stash with move-TE appeal, and Nate Boerkircher is the higher-investment tight end whose fantasy value still has to show up on passing downs.
So do not turn this into a one-winner argument in June. Draft Strange only after the safer tight end starters are gone, stash Koziol only where the bench can absorb a slow climb, and keep Boerkircher on the watch list until he is running routes with Trevor Lawrence in situations that actually create targets.
That is the useful tension. This is an opportunity creation problem, not an ADP-only angle. Jacksonville can support one playable tight end if the routes stay concentrated. It probably cannot make three tight ends useful for normal redraft benches.
That table is the draft rule. Do not ask which Jaguars tight end has the best headline. Ask who is on the field when Lawrence is in shotgun on third-and-6 and the ball has to come out on time.
Why the one-winner question misses the point
Tight end depth charts do not work like wide receiver depth charts. A player can be second in the group, play meaningful NFL snaps, and still give fantasy managers two catches in a game because his job is tied to chip help, sift blocks, and short-yardage personnel. That is useful football. It is not automatically a fantasy target.
Jacksonville's best-case fantasy version is simple. The lead tight end has to be part of the passing menu when Lawrence is working the middle of the field, not only when the Jaguars are in heavy personnel near the goal line. The second and third options need distinct receiving jobs before they deserve redraft attention. If all three are rotating through packages, the right fantasy play is to wait and let the usage declare itself.
That is also why Strange should not be priced only as a talent argument. He already did enough as a receiver to stay in the late tight end conversation. The new question is whether the added bodies make his weekly passing-game work too fragile to trust.
Strange has last year's work, not a free pass
What worked for Strange last year is the reason he cannot just be crossed off. In Week 18 role data, he drew 6 targets and a 19.4 percent target share while playing 62 percent of the offensive snaps. For a tight end, that is not empty participation. That is a quarterback using him often enough for the position to matter.
The broader closing window backs up the same point without pretending one box score solves the player. Strange averaged 5.4 targets in that stretch, and Jacksonville's 2025 tendency profile showed a 62.6 percent neutral pass rate. If the Jaguars are willing to throw in normal game script, a tight end who keeps routes can move beyond desperation streamer territory.
The catch is the summer crowding. The public depth chart still has Strange first, but Boerkircher and Koziol are listed right behind him. Add extension chatter around Strange and a 46-catch, 540-yard, 3-touchdown 2025 line, and you get a player whose story can become louder before his weekly route share is fully settled.
That is where price discipline matters. At publication, Strange sits around TE20 in PPR with an ADP near 104. That is playable if your draft has already passed the safer starter group and you are choosing between one uncertain route path and pure touchdown chasing.
Role Signals That Change the Pick
| Player | What Has To Show Up | Reader Move |
|---|---|---|
| Brenton Strange | First-team routes with Lawrence, especially third down and red zone snaps | Draft after the safer starting options, not as a solved breakout |
| Tanner Koziol | Slot or move-TE usage instead of only positive practice blurbs | Deep dynasty stash, especially in TE-premium formats |
| Nate Boerkircher | Passing-game snaps that separate from inline blocking and special teams | Watch list in redraft; patient dynasty hold only where benches are deep |
Treat Strange as a late conditional swing, not a finished answer. Draft him only when the board has already pushed you into risk, then require August usage to keep him from becoming a quick September cut.
Koziol is for leagues that reward patience
Koziol's case is different. The useful part of his profile is not just that he arrived with fifth-round investment and offseason buzz. It is that his fantasy case needs a specific kind of usage: detached alignments, slot releases, seams, and option routes where he is being asked to separate from linebackers.
That matters because Jacksonville does not need to become a pass-happy outlier for one tight end to matter. The Jaguars already threw enough in neutral situations for a route player to earn targets. Koziol only becomes interesting if he is part of that passing structure instead of the third tight end jogging onto the field for an outside-zone snap.
The problem is the climb. Strange has the incumbent receiving work, and the public depth chart lists Koziol third behind Strange and Boerkircher. Koziol can still become a fantasy stash, but he has to show something more specific than praise in shorts.
In dynasty, that is fine. In TE-premium leagues or taxi-squad formats, Koziol is worth a final bench spot if the plan is clear: you are waiting for receiving snaps, not simply collecting a name attached to a crowded position group. In shallow redraft, let someone else carry the holding period.
Boerkircher's investment matters, but targets matter more
Boerkircher is the easiest player in this group to overreact to because the second-round investment is real. Draft capital gives him organizational patience and a faster path to offensive snaps. It does not hand him third-down targets.
That distinction is the whole case. A young tight end can help an offense by blocking edges, protecting the quarterback on play-action, and keeping personnel flexible. Those snaps can earn praise from coaches while doing almost nothing for your lineup. If Boerkircher is mainly attached to inline work and special teams early, the Jaguars may like him more than fantasy drafters should.
The fantasy trigger is not that he is listed second. The trigger is whether he is running routes with Lawrence when Jacksonville spreads the formation and asks the tight end to beat a safety inside. Until that shows up, Boerkircher is a watch-list player in redraft and a patient dynasty hold only in leagues deep enough to wait through the slow development curve that often comes with this position.
There is a path where he matters quickly. If Jacksonville gives him red-zone routes, two-tight-end passing work, and actual progression targets, the math changes. If the summer evidence is mostly blocking packages, the investment helps Jacksonville's offense more than it helps your fantasy roster.
The Kraft comparison explains the pick
The reason to care about target path is that tight end still rewards cheap clarity. Tucker Kraft is the useful comparison, not because Jacksonville is Green Bay, but because the fantasy lesson transfers. Green Bay lists Kraft first at tight end, and his closing 2025 role window showed 5.8 targets per game. The role does not need elite volume if the routes are steady and the offense keeps the player in the progression.
Jacksonville is not there yet. Strange has the closest version of that path, but the added tight ends make the pick more fragile. Koziol and Boerkircher can become interesting, but neither should be priced like a settled route winner before they show the same kind of passing-game access.
That is the edge at tight end. Cheap names are easy to like in June. The ones that actually help your roster are the ones earning quarterback attention before touchdown variance starts doing the marketing.
The risk is that Jacksonville quickly consolidates passing snaps around one player. If Boerkircher is running red-zone routes with Lawrence in August, if Koziol is getting real slot work with the starters, or if Strange loses third-down routes, change the draft plan. Until then, do not pay for a receiving role before the offense shows it to you.
The draft rule
Draft Strange only after the safer starting options are gone and only if you are willing to replace him quickly if August routes get messy. In a typical 12-team redraft, he is a late tight end swing, not someone to build the position around.
Stash Koziol only where the bench is deep enough to wait for a real receiving role. Track Boerkircher for first-team passing snaps, especially red-zone routes and two-tight-end looks, but do not spend a normal redraft pick on investment alone.
The next update that matters is not another note saying Jacksonville has a crowded tight end group. It is a practice or preseason usage clue showing who runs routes with Lawrence when the Jaguars need a completion. Until then, sort the group this way: Strange is the conditional redraft pick, Koziol is the deep stash, and Boerkircher is the usage watch.
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