Strange posts 5/44, vultured by Boerkircher

After a quiet three games to start the year, Strange has heated up over the past two weeks. He led the team with seven catches last week and did so again today in London. Strange had seven catches in his first three games combined. He can’t be expected to pace the Jags in receiving, but Strange is back on the TE1/2 border for his Week 6 date with Houston.

Strange was Trevor Lawrence’s primary target against a Bengals defense that has struggled against tight ends. Many of his targets were middle-of-the-field intermediate passes as he tallied 95 total receiving yards on the day. The Jaguars offense has a variety of pass-catchers that can find success based on defensive matchup. The game environment aligned perfectly for Strange, who rarely came off the field with 53 total snaps. The Eagles are a tougher matchup for tight ends, but Strange is a good streamer option in the high-end TE2 territory for a Week 5 matchup in London.

Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers dominated looks from Trevor Lawrence on a low-volume day for the Jacksonville offense. Strange played his usual role as a check down option for Lawrence, rumbling for yards after the catch on two of his three grabs. Strange, with seven catches on the year, could be a streaming play in Week 4 against the Bengals if the game turns into a shootout.

Strange ran a pass route on 30 of the team’s 36 drop backs but was invisible for most of the game. For now Strange can be treated as a desperation streamer in 12-team formats ahead of the Jags’ Week 3 matchup against the Patriots. He should remain on waiver wires in 10-team leagues.

Boerkircher was drafted to primarily be a blocking tight end. The 25-year-old played 38 snaps in his rookie debut, 26 of them coming for run blocking. With Brenton Strange operating as the receiving tight end, its unlikely Boerkircher achieves fantasy relevance within his role.

Strange operated as the Jaguars’ primary receiving tight end, seeing three targets on the day. In a loaded passing attack, he still found opportunity in what was a very fantasy-friendly offense. Strange caught a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter and was mostly quiet in a second half where the Jaguars were already up by four scores. The Jaguars wide receivers will take much of Lawrence’s targets but Strange has a role over the middle of the field; he profiles as TE2 for Week 2 against the Broncos.

Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the deal is worth “up to” $48 million. A chunk of that figure is presumably based on incentives. The contract includes $25 million guaranteed. Strange posted a minor breakout in 2024 with 411 yards on 40 grabs. He upped the ante in 2025 to 46 catches for 540 yards despite missing five games. Strange was heading into the final year of his rookie deal before this extension and the team spent multiple draft picks on tight ends, making it look like they were considering letting him walk next offseason. Instead, Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol will primarily see the field for heavy offensive looks, something the team talked about after the draft. Strange will sit on the TE1/2 border in early fantasy drafts.

Per Shipley, Koziol “will earn reps” in the regular season if he keeps making plays. The Jaguars drafted Koziol in Round 5 and fellow TE Nate Boerkircher in Round 2 this year, but Shipley believes it’s been a ‘relatively quiet offseason for Boerkircher,” and Boerkircher missed Thursday’s practice for an undisclosed reason. He missed a practice last week as well. Koziol has shown “a real ability to make plays on the ball.” He is unlikely to garner a fantasy-relevant workload playing behind TE1 Brenton Strange, but Koziol is a name to know moving forward.

Shipley said the Jaguars drafting Texas A&M TE Nate Boerkircher and Houston TE Tanner Koziol in the 2026 draft does not mean the Jaguars coaching staff has a smaller role planned for Strange, who last season 46 catches, 540 yards, and three touchdowns as the team’s TE1. Shipley expected Strange’s pass game involvement to grow as the Jaguars deploy more tight end-heavy offensive sets. The Jaguars, Shipley said, are “clearly hoping that injecting the [tight end] room with talent should allow Strange to produce at an even higher level than before.” Last season Strange was targeted on 21 percent of his routes, which ranked 25th out of 58 qualifying tight ends. Though he’ll likely be the team’s third or fourth option in the passing game, Strange should be a viable fantasy option in 12 and 14-team leagues this season.

Boerkircher sat out on Monday, but we do not yet know why. Koziol looks “smooth in space” and took the advantage of his opportunities. His stand out showings as a pass-catcher have “helped him make some real progress at the start of OTAs.” Kozial was a bit of a dynasty darling in this season’s rookie draft cycle. We do not expect him to be relevant in re-draft this season, but these reports are encouraging for his long-term outlook.