With the No. 164 overall pick, the Jacksonville Jaguars select Tanner Koziol — and quietly, this might be one of the cleanest value plays on Day 3.
This is a fit pick as much as it is a talent grab. Koziol walks into Jacksonville with a pro-ready frame and a skill set that translates immediately to Sundays. At Houston, he wasn’t just a safety valve—he was a volume target with trust equity, finishing with 74 receptions for 727 yards and 6 touchdowns, consistently working the seams and owning the middle of the field.
Jacksonville’s offense has been searching for reliability between the numbers, and Koziol brings exactly that:
Catch radius that erases bad throws
Physicality through contact
Natural feel in zone windows
He’s not a burner—but he doesn’t need to be. His game is built on timing, leverage, and positioning, the kind of traits that earn trust quickly from quarterbacks.
The Duval Fit
This is where it gets interesting.
The Jaguars add a tight end who can:
Move the chains on 3rd-and-6
Be a red zone mismatch
Serve as a security blanket in structure-heavy concepts
He complements the room as a possession TE with upside, giving Jacksonville flexibility in personnel groupings and a dependable target when plays break down.
This is how rosters get built. Not always with the flash. Not always with the headline name. But with players who understand how to win in the margins—who show up on third down, in the red zone, in the moments that don’t make the highlight reel but decide games. That’s where Tanner Koziol earns his keep.
For the Jacksonville Jaguars, this isn’t just a fifth-round selection—it’s a bet on dependability. A bet on a player whose game travels, whose hands are steady, and whose presence gives structure to an offense when things break down.
And come December, when possessions tighten and every snap carries weight, don’t be surprised if No. 164 looks a whole lot bigger than where it was called.
Houston sends another name to the league—and Koziol carries that production-to-projection pipeline with him. This isn’t just a late-round flyer.This is a quarterback’s friend walking into an opportunity.
