The Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars have developed a little bit of a rivalry in the past two NFL Drafts.
The Jaguars reportedly were hot on the trail of a couple of players the Broncos ended up taking on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft: Running back RJ Harvey and wide receiver Pat Bryant. This year, it was the Jaguars who might have snatched up a player the Broncos wanted, and frankly, they might have done the Broncos a huge favor.
The Jaguars used a 2nd-round pick on Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher, a selection that has not exactly been the most well-received by the NFL Draft community. Jaguars GM James Gladstone has come under quite a bit of fire for picking Boerkircher in the 2nd round, and if it wasn't the Jaguars, it might have been the Broncos.
NFL insider says Denver Broncos had interest in Jaguars 2nd-round pick Nate Boerkircher
ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler recently published some intel from all 32 teams around the NFL in the aftermath of the 2026 NFL Draft, and while he didn't say the Broncos were interested in Nate Boerkircher with a 2nd-round pick, the Broncos had definitely expressed a lot of pre-draft interest in a player who is being considered one of the biggest "reach" picks in the class.
"Realistically, Boerkircher entered the draft thinking he would go late in Day 2, early in Day 3 (so, let's say in the third or fourth rounds). But he was notified in the process that multiple teams listed him as their top blocking tight end. Boerkircher believed Denver was high on him and considered him a viable option early in the fourth round."
- Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
It's important to acknowledge that we have no idea how these picks are all going to work out, but there are plenty of reasons to be thankful that Boerkircher was not available to the Broncos on Day 3, starting with the fact that the team was able to get Justin Joly in the 5th round to address the tight end position.
Joly will be 22 years old at the start of the 2026 season while Boerkircher is will be 25. Boerkircher had 38 receptions over six years at the college level, and Joly had 166 catches over four years. Boerkircher is considered an undersized in-line player while Joly is the quintessential "F" tight end, a player who can move around the formation and play either in-line or split off the formation in the slot and out wide.
The Broncos might have been gifted a better situation on a silver platter, even if teams considered Boerkircher one of the best blocking tight ends in the class. The domino effect of the Jaguars taking Boerkircher allowed the Broncos to end up with an NFL-ready threat in the passing game, and they got him way later than expected.
Joly was the 145th-ranked player on Daniel Jeremiah's pre-draft big board, while Boerkircher was the 135th-ranked player. The Broncos got Joly with pick 152 overall and Boerkircher went 56th.
But the relief for the Broncos is not simply a matter of optics or popularity among the NFL Draft community. It feels like Joly is genuinely a better fit for what the team needs right now and beyond this season with Evan Engram hitting free agency in 2027.
That's not to say Boerkircher would have ruined the Broncos' draft class, especially in the 4th round, but getting a younger player with substantially more production at the college level -- nearly 100 picks later -- feels like a really fortuitous domino effect for the Broncos.
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