The Jacksonville Jaguars' tight end room is suddenly crowded, and veteran Hunter Long might be the odd man out after the 2026 NFL draft. With 10 selections made, the Jaguars used two of them on tight ends—Nate Boerkircher from Texas A&M and Tanner Koziol from Houston—sending a clear signal that competition is heating up across the roster.

Boerkircher brings a blocking-first mentality to the position, which could directly challenge Quintin Morris for playing time. Morris, however, appears to have a solid foothold after emerging as the TE2 during the second half of last season. Even if Boerkircher earns snaps, offensive coordinator Liam Coen is expected to deploy more three-tight-end sets this year, giving Morris a strong path to sticking on the 53-man roster.

Long's situation is more precarious. He and Koziol both fit the pass-catching-first mold, and Long seemed to lose favor late last season—he didn't see a single offensive snap from Week 15 onward. That's a tough trend to reverse when a younger, cheaper option with a similar skill set is now in the building.

Cap considerations aren't the driving factor here, but they don't help Long's case. Moving on from the veteran would save the Jaguars $1.382 million in cap space for the 2026 season. With Brenton Strange, Morris, Boerkircher, and Koziol already accounting for four spots, rostering five tight ends is possible but unusual. Last season, the Jaguars were comfortable carrying just three on the active roster at times, which makes Long's path to a roster spot even narrower.

For fans tracking the Jaguars' roster battles this summer, the tight end position is one to watch closely—especially if Long and Koziol end up competing for the same role in Coen's offense.