The former Penn State standout enters his fourth season as Trevor Lawrence's primary tight end, poised to mirror the breakout trajectories of NFL elites.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have had a rich history of productive tight ends.
Mercedes Lewis, Kyle Brady, Evan Engram and Pete Mitchell are among the franchise’s leaders in receiving. Despite the talent at the position through the years, the Jaguars have yet to have a tight end break the 1,000-yard mark.
Engram, who played for Jacksonville from 2022-2024 and now plays for the Denver Broncos, came the closest after registering 963 receiving yards on 114 receptions in 2023—both Jacksonville single season franchise records.
The Jaguars made some waves during the 2026 NFL Draft when they selected Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkicher with their first pick in the second round (No. 56 overall) and then took Houston tight end Tanner Koziol in the fifth round (No. 164). While general manager James Gladstone did draft two tight ends, there’s no question who the Jaguars’ TE1 is.
Entering his fourth season Brenton Strange has quietly become a weapon for quarterback Trevor Lawrence along with the likes of wide receivers Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter.
Last season Strange had his best season in Jacksonville finishing third on the team in receptions (46) with 540 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-foot-4, 253-pound former Penn State Nittany Lion had a 65 percent receiving success rate on 60 targets, averaged 11.7 yards per catch and had 28 first downs.
Despite having plenty of pass catchers to feed, head coach Liam Coen’s offense is known for spreading the ball around and having another year in the offense gives Strange the opportunity to have a breakout season.
According to PFF, Strange finished the 2025 season with a 77.6 grade and was seventh out of 37 qualified tight ends. He is a catch-and-run threat who had 257 yards after the catch, was targeted five or more times in eight games and had an average depth of target of 7.0 yards.
Recent outliers such as Brock Bowers, Kyle Pitts and Sam LaPorta aside, Strange is in the traditional window of when tight ends develop in the NFL. During their fourth season, future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce and 2025 All-Pro Trey McBride became household names.
In 2016, Kelce had his first of seven straight seasons with more than 1,000 yards receiving on 85 receptions. McBride broke the 1,000-yard mark in his third season in 2024, but last season he was the most dominant tight end in the NFL. McBride set the NFL single-season record for receptions by a tight end with 126 on 169 targets, was No. 6 in the NFL in receiving yards (1,239) and was No. 2 in the NFL in receiving touchdowns (11).
Strange most certainly won’t see more than 160 targets this season, but Coen has shown he will use his tight ends. In 2024, with Coen as the Tampa Bay offensive coordinator, the Buccaneers targeted their tight ends 134 times with Cade Otton leading the way with 59 catches, 600 yards and four touchdowns. In his first season in Jacksonville, Coen’s Jaguars targeted the tight ends 148 times.
Under Coen and offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, Strange might be the next tight end to make the jump to elite.
Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
