Jack Kiser Has Officially Become the New Jaguars Regime's First Draft Bust

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars' new era officially has their first draft miss.

The Jaguars saw former linebacker Jack Kiser get claimed on waivers on Monday by the Cincinnati Bengals, reuniting the former Jaguars fourth-rounder with his former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. And as a result, the Jaguars have their first draft bust of the Liam Coen/James Gladstone/Tony Boselli era.

nfl — From left, Jacksonville Jaguars Executive Vice President of football operations Tony Boselli, head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone walk off the field after the game of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Patriots 35-6. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

New Era's First Draft Miss

The Jaguars drafted Kiser with the No. 107th pick in the fourth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft, tacking Kiser just a few picks after they took running back Bhayshul Tuten at No. 104 overall. But while Tuten has turned into a key piece of what the Jaguars do a year later, Kiser never quite was able to get the same footing during his short time with the Jaguars.

Kiser was a reserve for the Jaguars as a rookie, with the former Notre Dame linebacker appear in 14 games as a backup last season. He recorded 14 tackles as a rookie, playing 43 snaps on defense and 193 snaps (53%) on special teams. But Kiser was dealt a tough blow at the start of training camp in his sophmore season, going down with a knee injury during team drills on the first day of practice.

Kiser never practiced for the Jaguars again during camp, and the Jaguars ended up waiving him after camp before signing him to the practice squad. Kiser was eventually elevated from the practice squad and signed back to the active roster earlier this season, but he never ended up appearing in a game for the Jaguars this season.

The Jaguars then waived him for a second time this weekend as they made a slew of roster moves before their Week 5 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, with the Jaguars instead signing fellow 2025 draftee Jalen McLeod from the practice squad to the active roster.

No matter what Kiser ends up doing for the Bengals, this can now be classified as the new Jaguars regime's first miss. He is the first of 19 draft picks over the last two seasons to play for a new team, and the Jaguars essentially picked McLeod over him this weekend. The Jaguars also picked veteran backup linebacker Jahlani Tavai over Kiser at the end of training camp, and that stance clearly hasn't changed.

Kiser was dealt a tough hand with injuries, but the fact the Jaguars never seemed to entertain the idea of him battling for a starting spot with Ventrell Miller and Branson Combs after the departure of Devin Lloyd in free agency indicated that this was a pick they felt comfortable moving on from after a season. It is better to pull the plug on a pick too early as opposed to too late, but this was an even tougher miss considering stud Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Deone Walker was taken just a few picks later.

The Jaguars do not seem to have any other 2025 picks in danger of falling into the same category as Kiser anytime soon. McLeod was in the same boat as Kiser just a few weeks ago, but he has impressed in a big way on special teams and has seemed to at least carved out a role there for now. The returns on third-rounders Caleb Ransaw and Wyatt Milum has yet to be there, but they are not close to being off the roster outright like Kiser.

He will not be the last draft pick the Jaguars miss on, but for the new regime he is officially their first.

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