JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars haven't had much luck drafting wide receivers, especially in the first round. But maybe this time will be different.
The Jaguars drafted Brian Thomas Jr. with the 23rd overall pick, and the pieces are in place for him to make an impact as a rookie in 2024 -- and potentially continue the recent tradition of former LSU receivers thriving in the NFL and becoming some of the league's top players.
Thomas joins a franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, who has the arm strength to take advantage of Thomas' vertical speed, and an already established receiving group on the roster that should take some of the pressure off the rookie.
"He's an explosive athlete. He can help open up the field a little bit," general manager Trent Baalke said. "He's certainly a younger receiver for Trevor to build around and our offense to build around."
The Jaguars don't exactly have a stellar history of drafting receivers: Only two of the 31 they've drafted before 2024 have had a 1,000-yard season: Allen Robinson II (2015) and DJ Chark Jr. (2019), both of whom were second-round picks. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's tied with three other teams for fewest drafted receivers to have a 1,000-yard season since 1995.
Thomas is the fifth wide receiver the Jaguars have drafted in the first round. None of the previous four reached 2,500 career receiving yards. The Jaguars are hoping Thomas can buck that trend.
"He's a guy that brings a skill set that we haven't necessarily had to that level. He's [6-foot-3], 209 pounds and he runs a sub 4.4 [40-yard dash]. He's got the production to back it up," Baalke said. "We're just looking forward to getting him in here, getting our hands on him and going to work."
Thomas has good height and speed, and his production at LSU matched those measurables. He led the nation with 17 touchdown catches last season, including 12 of 20 or more yards, which is the most by any FBS player in a season since ESPN began tracking air yards in 2011. The entire Jaguars team had seven touchdowns of 20 or more air yards in 2023.
Former LSU standouts Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson (20 and 18, respectively, in 2019) had more TD catches in a season than Thomas, but neither matched Thomas' downfield TD production. He also caught 10 TD passes on go or fade routes last season.
Chase, Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. are the NFL measuring sticks when it comes to former LSU receivers. All became No. 1 receivers, and Chase and Jefferson are regarded as two of the top players in the NFL. That's a tough legacy for Thomas -- as well as former LSU standout Malik Nabers, taken sixth overall by the New York Giants -- to follow.
"I'm just trying to be myself," Thomas said. "I don't feel like I have to live up to any expectations. I'm just going to come out there, work hard, do what I can do to the best of my ability."
In Thomas, the Jaguars now have a player built to boost production in the red zone. Last season they ranked 21st in red zone TD percentage (50%). Now Lawrence has a taller receiver with big hands to target who can win 50-50 throws or be targeted on end zone fades. They have one other receiver on the roster taller than 6-2, but it's second-year player Elijah Cooks (6-4) who has just three career catches.
"Great size, great size," coach Doug Pederson said. "[Thomas is] big, tall, has a really good route tree and can run all of the routes. Definitely, as you've seen, he can take the top off. He's going to see some different coverages too. He's going to see a little bit better secondary guys. The SEC has good coverage guys, but he was going to see more defenses, different defenses. Those are things, as coaches, we will scheme up for him."
Lawrence had a lot of success throwing to a bigger receiver at Clemson, hooking up with Tee Higgins (6-4) 118 times for 2,103 yards and 25 touchdowns in the two seasons they played together. In the 2019 College Football Playoff national championship game against Alabama, Higgins caught three passes for 81 yards (27 yards per catch) and one touchdown in Clemson's victory over Alabama.
Other players on the team will benefit from the addition of Thomas, most notably slot receiver Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram. With Thomas and free agent signee Gabe Davis (16.7 yards per catch in his four-year career) stretching the field on the outside, Kirk and Engram should have more room to work the middle of the field.
Kirk has averaged 13.2 yards per catch and Engram has averaged 9.2 yards per catch in their two seasons in Jacksonville. Defenses will play deeper safeties to cover the deep ball threat, so Kirk and Engram should be able to exploit matchups against nickel corners and linebackers.
"That's the hope, that's the goal, and that's what we're going to work towards," Pederson said. "That's something that we talked about in here the last couple of days too, what these skill positions can do. It opens up that second level, intermediate zones, in your passing game. That's where Evan can get a lot of his targets in there and Christian gets a lot of targets in there.
"Gabe can stretch the field a little bit, Brian now can stretch the field, obviously, and we'll see once we get everybody in there and all the pieces together just how this thing unfolds."
Thomas is more concerned with how those guys can help him than how he can free them up more to make plays.
"It's a stacked room," he said. "Just want to get in there, get to work, learn from the guys and be the best I can be. Going in, working hard, doing the things that I can do best, just go up there, put in the work and see where it takes me."