Liam Coen learned to walk at the same age he showed an interest in football. The Jaguars‘ head coach was only 3 years old when he first drew the wishbone formation and placed all 11 players at the exact place they needed to be. Such stories are one of the many associated with his larger-than-life impression as an offensive coach. But for the time being, the owner, Shahid Khan, has handed him the responsibility to turn around the entire team. Obviously, it starts with the offense. And this time, he has chosen the Jags breakout TE Brenton Strange to lead from the front.

The Athletic‘s Jacob Robinson put out a list of breakout stars for each team in the AFC South. And he chose the tight end for his rising trajectory. For the first time in a while, the Jaguars might actually be comfortable letting go of Evan Engram. Why? Brenton Strange. The second-year tight end only got two real chances last season. However, in the games where he played more than 80% of snaps, he caught 15 balls for 97 yards. Not eye-popping numbers, sure. But the rhythm was there. The trust was there. You could feel it.

Now, Strange slides into a Liam Coen offense that knows what to do with a tight end. Just ask Cade Otton, who put up 600 yards in 14 games with the Bucs last year. Coen’s system isn’t tight end–friendly, it’s tight end-essential. Moreover, TE1s regularly get 80% of snaps. There’s real substance there.

And Strange? He’s got the frame, the hands, the after-the-catch twitch that made him a second-rounder. He was raw coming out of Penn State, no doubt. But raw becomes refined fast when the reps are steady and the quarterback starts looking your way on third down.

That’s the bet Jacksonville seems willing to bet on the younger, cheaper, ascending guy and use Engram’s money elsewhere. It’s not a slight on Engram. But it’s a reflection of confidence in Strange’s growth arc. You don’t shift cap priorities unless you believe the floor’s stable and the ceiling’s climbing.

With volume alone, he’ll get close. The real intrigue is how he evolves in the red zone and on intermediate routes, places Engram used to own. Strange may not just replace Engram’s role; he might redefine it. And he is ready.

Brenton Strange is ready for Liam Coen’s offense

Brenton Strange has been waiting for this. It’s ticking in rhythm with his rise, and the beat of Liam Coen’s offense couldn’t suit him better. He isn’t walking into TE1 duties just because Engram’s gone. He earned this. In 2024, when injuries pushed him into the spotlight, he didn’t flinch. Ten starts, forty catches, two scores, over 400 yards, and third on the team in receptions.

Now the gloves are off. Liam Coen’s scheme thrives with a featured tight end. And he is ready. “I want to be a complete tight end,” Strange told O-Zone Podcast‘s John Oehser recently. You can tell he means it. He’s not just chasing stats, he’s chasing domination.

“I’m definitely ready for it,” he calls it. “I have a lot of confidence in myself, and I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself. I feel like I’m always one of the best players on the field.” That oozes readiness. And Coen will ask for that weekly.

With Travis Hunter stretching the field and Brian Thomas Jr. attacking the seams, Strange has room to operate underneath and in the flats. That’s where this gets interesting. Coen offenses don’t throw to tight ends as an afterthought; they build around them when the fit is right. And right now, nothing feels more aligned in Jacksonville than Strange stepping into that central role.

His window isn’t just open, it’s framed by expectation. Meanwhile, Strange knows it and owns it. “Everything I’ve done in my life has prepared me for this,” he said. He’s not wrong. And if his third-year leap hits the way it could, Coen may have his next star.