During the first day of training camp practice for the Jacksonville Jaguars, rookie tight ends Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol each saw their share of opportunities with the first-team offense.
Certainly, those opportunities speak to what they've put on film throughout the offseason and the work they've put in away from the practice field. But as head coach Liam Coen described after practice, he also wants to put the rookies in some new situations to see how they respond.
"It's also trying to put them in some positions that maybe are a little uncomfortable early on, like putting them in some positions that we got to go see what they can do in terms of that," Coen said. "And not that we know what Hunter and know what Quinton can do -- I think both those guys had good days as well, Hunter and Q -- we got to see what these guys can do against NFL competition, against a good defensive line, whether it's with the first group or the second group."
Boerkircher was a terrific blocking tight end at the college level and the Jaguars believe he can impact the passing game as well. That well-rounded skill set, especially when paired with Brenton Strange and all he can do, can help add a new layer to the offense and open up the playbook for Coen.
Koziol, meanwhile, was more of a pass-catching threat during his college career.

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