The Jacksonville Jaguars notoriously invested heavily in the tight end position during this year's draft, with their first pick — Nate Boerkircher — receiving no shortage of criticism, with analysts heavily questioning the selection. However, during training camp, Boerkircher, along with Tanner Koziol, have already begun to change the narrative. Jacksonville selected both tight ends, seeing the value in their respective skill sets. Boerkircher was the best blocking tight end available, while Koziol has more value as a pass catcher. After seeing their performance in training camp, veteran tight end Brenton Strange believes both will be important contributors on offense. "They're going to do great things," he said in a Wednesday press conference. "They both have very unique skill sets, and I feel like they're both very talented players. Nate, he does a little bit of everything, and then you see Tanner out here making plays every single day in the passing game, and he's special that way, being able to, you know, just go up top and get the ball. So both of those guys are super talented and special."
Boerkircher recently said he is hoping to learn as much as he can from Strange, who has developed into an elite tight end who can contribute both as a blocker and a receiver. For Strange, he agreed that there is a lot in Boerkircher that reminds him of himself. "Yeah, for sure. Like, just that he wants to do everything, and he wants to be involved in everything," he said. "And I think that's the most important thing, you know, being a football player, and then blocking especially is just being willing, and being willing to put your head in there. And he definitely has that. He doesn't have any fear, and that's very impressive because, you know, it's a lot going on as a rookie, and these guys coming out here playing Josh Hines-Allen, Travon, it might startle some people, but, you know, you can really tell who somebody is when he comes out here and does what he does." Boerkircher has not been featured much in highlights from training camp, which is understandable for a player who has largely focused so far on the under-appreciated work of blocking; however, the reports that have come out about him, both as a blocker and a receiver, have been positive. Koziol likewise has made some big plays during training camp, and it's clear that both are expected to contribute right away once the regular season begins. The Jaguars will now have more versatility on offense with the addition of both tight ends, and by the end of the season, could easily prove that James Gladstone and Liam Coen were right all along. This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Brenton Strange shares early impressions of Jaguars' rookie tight ends