Every year at the NFL Draft, we get some incredible stories of players realizing their lifelong dreams. This year, the Jacksonville Jaguars and their owner, Shahid Khan, got to be a part of one such incredible story.
The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted 10 players at the 2026 NFL Draft. They had one pick in rounds 2, 4, and 5, two in rounds 6, 7, and three in round 3. Nate Boerkircher, the 56th overall pick, was their highest selection.
But this story isn’t about Boerkircher. The Jaguars had closed off round 6 with two picks, Josh Cameron at 191 and CJ Williams at 2023, when the owner, Shahid Khan, called prospect X to give him the good news.
“Hey, we’re on the clock in the seventh round, pick 233, and we’re going to select you to be a Jacksonville Jaguar, and we can’t wait for you to come kick everybody’s ass,” Khan told prospect X.
By that time, the prospect X had gone through all sorts of emotions, surrounded by his loved ones. He was anxious to know what his future had in store for him, and Khan saying, “We’re going to select you to be a Jacksonville Jaguar,” was all he wanted to hear.
The prospect X here is star edge rusher Zach Durfee. He was overjoyed and was trying to hold back tears while on a call with Khan. For a moment, he couldn’t speak. A few seconds went by as Khan waited to hear from his next draft pick.
Khan had to check up on him, asking if everything was alright. Once Durfee told him he was okay, the Jaguars owner said, “Awesome. Here’s your head coach, Liam Coen, he’s going to talk to you.”
Moments later, Durfee and his entire family saw his name flash on their TV screen. He was officially a Jacksonville Jaguar.
Zach Durfee’s Mother Detailed His Struggles
Durfee had his fair share of struggles during his college years at North Dakota State. The world was suffering from a global pandemic, and Durfee’s dream of playing college football was put on hold because of it.
“He was just down in the dumps,” his mother, Renae, said. “The COVID year was hard, just feeling kind of lost and just very different, and he didn’t handle that as well as others.”
Renae said that Durfee was stressed about his future and even struggled to assure himself that football was his true calling. In the end, all those struggles helped bring him to this point where he is now a part of a great NFL franchise.
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