BrianThomas Jr.

News: 1 day agoThe Jaguars envision Thomas serving as the 'X' receiver in their offense during the upcoming season, Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network reports.

Spin: After an outstanding rookie campaign in which he put up a 87-1,282-10 receiving line on 133 targets over 17 contests, Thomas saw his production crater in Year 2 (48-707-2 line in 14 games). Though the Jacksonville offense took a step forward as a whole under first-year head coach Liam Coen, Thomas ended up sacrificing heavy target volume to Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington, who emerged as trusted weapons underneath and in the intermediate area for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Wolfe notes that while the Jaguars value Thomas "a ton" and have no desire to trade him, the coaching staff learned last season that the wideout's strengths lie in using his blazing speed to run deep routes on the perimeter rather than taking contact on routes in the middle and shorter areas of the field. While that sort of role typically doesn't lend itself to consistently heavy target counts week to week, it's not one that's completely bereft of fantasy value. Wolfe cites Brandin Cooks -- whose tenure with the Rams overlapped with Coen's time as an assistant for the team -- as a player in a similar mold as Thomas who was able to turn in productive seasons on modest target volume while primarily serving as a vertical threat.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Thomas is one of the biggest wild cards in fantasy after a roller-coaster start to his career. The 2024 first-round pick was fantasy's No. 4-scoring wide receiver as a rookie, but only played at that WR1 level with Mac Jones under center. Thomas averaged 5.8 targets and 14.4 fantasy PPG with Trevor Lawrence under center that season, and was even worse with Lawrence in 2025 (6.2 targets, 9.9 PPG). With Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington and Travis Hunter in the mix, Thomas was utilized as more of a vertical threat in 2025 (his 14.4 aDOT was fourth highest), which led to a big dip in catch rate and touchdowns, as well as more drops. The Jaguars offense is suddenly very crowded, so Thomas is more likely to be a boom/bust flex than he is the superstar we expected one year ago. The 23-year-old's raw talent makes him worth middle-round consideration.