John Oehser
JACKSONVILLEThey stayed put and got better at the same time.
The Jaguars on Friday selected four players two on offense, two on defense on a busy, important Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft. By night's end, they were bigger, tougher and stronger.
Friday was a productive day and a physical one, too.
The Jaguars, after not having a Round 1 selection Thursday, selected the following four players Friday on Day 2 of the '26 draft:
Nate Boerkircher, tight end, Texas A&M (No. 56 overall, Round 2).
Albert Regis, defensive tackle, Texas A&M (No. 81 overall, Round 3).
Emmanuel Pregnon, guard, Oregon (No. 88 overall, Round 3).
Jalen Huskey, safety, Maryland (No. 100 overall, Round 3).
"We definitely got tougher tonight,"Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coensaid. "The type of player, the type of person we're trying to hunt up here attitude, toughness, mentally and physically tough."
Added Gladstone, "All these guys, they can have the talent. But the differentiator is the mindset and that's a lot of what we focused on in these decisions. As we labeled the guys we really wanted to target throughout the course of it, we ended up with four guys who fit the bill for exactly what we're hunting up.
Gladstone, too, said the Jaguars considered trading up from No. 56. They instead stayed there, made the selection and did not execute a trade on either of the draft's first two days.
Boerkircher (6-feet-5, 245) played 2020-2024 at Nebraska and 2025 at Texas A&M. He caught 38 career passes for 417 yards and four touchdowns, including 19 for 198 yards and three touchdowns in 2025.
Coen said he had a "vision" before the draft that the team would select Boerkircher.
Gladstone said a leaguewide emphasis this offseason on tight ends factored into timing of the Boerkircher selection. The Jaguars made Boerkircher the third tight end selection in the '26 draft, with six more tight ends selected before the end of Round 3.
"That was rooted in our own internal sentiment and understanding that the trend in the NFL is that heavier tight end sets was going to be something that got prioritized," Gladstone said. "We felt certainly a heavier tight end run throughout the course of the back end of the second and into the third. Typically, that's a window where the wide receiver run is really occurring. That certainly showed itself.
Regis (6-feet-1, 295 pounds) played 2021-2025 at Texas A&M. He registered 3.5 career sacks with 11 tackles for loss, including two sacks in 2025 and three tackles for loss. He also had 10 pass breakups, nine over the last two seasons.
Coen late Friday lauded Regis' "football intelligence, the football IQ" and said there was a "a ton" of "buy in" around the Jaguars for the selection.
"Pregnon (6-feet-4, 314 pounds) played 2025 at Oregon, 2023-2024 at Southern California and 2020-2022 at Wyoming. He was a first-team All-America selection and a first-team All-Big 10 selection in 2025 and a second-team All-Big 10 selection in 2024. He was a freshman All-America selection in 2022.
"He's the type of player who adds mass inside," Coen said.
Huskey (6-feet-1, 192 pounds) played 2024-2025 at Maryland and 2022-2023 at Bowling Green. He finished his collegiate career with 11 interceptions and 10 passes defensed, including four interceptions and three passes defensed in 2025.
Huskey played corner early in his collegiate career.
"We've talked about bigger personnel groupings becoming a trend," Gladstone said. "To combat that, you're getting hybrid safeties/corners and bigger bodies at the position who can help match that a little bit more effectively.
