Brian Thomas Jr.

Brian Thomas Jr. emerged as a force in his junior year at LSU, boasting a 33% dominator rating and leading the FBS with 17 touchdowns. Standing at 6'4" and 205 lbs, he possesses the size and speed of a boundary X-receiver, evidenced by his impressive college production. Despite not being the primary target, Thomas still earned a 24% dominator rating, competing for catches with fellow standout Malik Nabers. Drafted by the Jaguars in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Thomas has the opportunity to absorb a significant portion of targets left by departing players, potentially exceeding 100 targets. While he offers high-end splash week potential, his weekly consistency may vary due to Jacksonville's diverse offensive weapons.

Thomas is a traits-based prospect with a legit 4.3-lifting speed. He can take the top off a defense and burn by a corner in the blink of an eye. Thomas faced a ton of off-coverage in college, with corners afraid to get beat over the top by him. As a field stretcher, he offers solid ball tracking deep and a "my ball" mentality at the catch point. He has good body control for a receiver his size. He'll be a good fit in an offense built upon creating explosives and with a strong deep ball rate. Thomas was tasked with a limited route tree at LSU. His game logs consisted of a ton of stop routes, gos, and fade routes. He was tasked with running to space against zone. You won't find many in-breaking routes on his film outside of the occasional crosser. Thomas has a decent gear down for his size with the ability to gain separation on comebacks, but he saw hefty cushions in coverage. It'll be interesting to see how he handles corners pressing him or playing tighter in the NFL. He has the upper body strength and hand-fighting to put up a fight against press, but it's more of a projection since we haven't seen him do it much. He's not much of a threat after the catch, with only 5.3 yards after the catch per reception in college. His transition from receiver to rusher is methodical, considering his size. He's not a twitchy player, as his hips look stiff once he has the ball in his hands and is asked to create after the catch. Dynasty Outlook: The Jacksonville Jaguars acquired Thomas Jr.'s services after selecting him in the first round of the NFL Draft. Jacksonville made it clear that he will be in the starting lineup in Week 1 after they released Zay Jones. Thomas Jr. had a strong final season at LSU, but he must continue to grow as a wide receiver if he hopes to hit his ceiling. LSU didn't ask him to run a full route tree. In 2023, he fell below the FBS average, with only 3.1% of his routes being slants (average 5.6%) and 11.8% being crossers (13.6%). 54.8% of his overall route volume in 2023 were either go routes or hitches (per PFF). Thomas Jr. could become the team's WR1, but look for him to be eased in as the third/fourth option in the passing attack behind Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, and possibly Gabe Davis. Thomas Jr. 's draft slot will vary widely from league to league, from the late first round to the early second round of rookie drafts.