John Oehser
JACKSONVILLEHe's part of a league-wide trend.
He can also catch a lot and wants to show he can block. None of which was at the forefront ofTanner Koziol's thoughts Saturday afternoon. At the forefront:
His long journey had led to the NFL. For real.
Tanner Koziol, a tight end from the University of Houston, on Saturday was selected by the Jaguars No. 164 overall in the2026 NFL Draftthe 24th selection of Round 5. He became the second tight end selected by the Jaguars in two days, with the Jaguars selected Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher in Round 2 Friday.
A main reason for the selection:
Productivity, with Koziol catching 237 collegiate career passes for 2,234 yards and 24 touchdowns including 74 receptions for 727 yards and six touchdowns for Houston in 2025.
Hill noted that Koziol was the most targeted tight end in Pro Football Focus history.
"He has a huge wingspan and is a huge target down the seam for us," Hill said. "He definitely stands out at practice. He definitely stood out at the Senior Bowl. He had a really good Senior Bowl."
Koziol played 2022-2024 at Ball State, where he caught 163 passes for 1,507 yards and 18 touchdowns. He transferred briefly to Wisconsin in the 2025 offseason, then transferred that same offseason to Houston.
Koziol, too, discussed his performance at the Senior Bowl and said he hoped to show in the January All-Star game that he was a capable blocker.
"I wanted to put on film that I could move people in the run game and that I'm very willing," he said. "I just need to be coached up some more and I'm going to continue to work on that."
Added Hill, "Guys like that where they're flexed out in the slot can improve as blockers when they're more reduced inside in line. We're expecting that out of him."
This marks the first time in franchise history the Jaguars have selected two tight ends in the same draft. Five tight ends were selected in Rounds 1-2 in the '26 draft, with four more selected in Round 3, with seven more selected in Rounds 4-5.
"It's awesome to see tight ends just get the love," he said. "The position, I think, has been undervalued for a little bit. For the past five or six years it has just been going up and up in the trends you're seeing in offense how much more they're getting on the field and bigger sets in the run game.
"It's really cool to see. I'm really excited for where the position continues to go."
