JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The first NFL pass thrown Brian Thomas Jr.'s way ended with him getting dragged to the ground in the end zone. The Jaguars rookie didn't make the catch, but he did see two yellow flags on the field. Thomas got back to his feet, looked straight at Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who was just flagged for pass interference, and started trash talking.
Thomas doesn't remember what he said to Ramsey, and none of his teammates were close enough to hear him, either. But what he said didn't matter. His teammates were surprised that Thomas actually ... talked.
"I don't think anybody knew what to expect," quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. "It's been fun seeing him come out of shell [on] game day and when he makes plays."
Since he was drafted No. 23 overall by Jacksonville in May, one thing that has stood out about Thomas -- other than his talent -- is that he rarely says anything. So when he gave it to Ramsey in his first NFL game, his teammates loved it.
"It's confidence and that's a big thing for especially a young receiver to have that confidence," receiver Christian Kirk said. "It's just good to see that."
Thomas is talking more now as he's grown more comfortable with his teammates and coaches, something that is also reflected on the field. He has become Lawrence's No. 1 receiver, is on pace to shatter the Jaguars rookie receiving record and is becoming more confident by the week. On Sunday, he became the fifth player in the NFL since 2000 to record 500 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in the first seven games of his career.
"When I'm out there on the field, that's how I express myself," Thomas said. "That's when I let all my feelings out."
The Jaguars haven't had a true No. 1 receiver since Jimmy Smith, who had nine 1,000-yard seasons in a 10-year span (including seven in a row) from 1996-2005. They've tried to find one in the draft previously and have come up empty each time.
Jacksonville has selected 31 receivers in the draft since the franchise's inception in 1995 -- and only two of those picks have had 1,000-yard seasons: Allen Robinson (1,400 yards in 2015) and DJ Chark Jr. (1,008 in 2019), both of whom were second-round picks. Per Elias Sports Bureau, that's tied with three other teams for fewest drafted receivers to have 1,000-yard seasons since 1995.
Thomas is the fifth receiver the Jaguars have drafted in the first round. The first four -- R. Jay Soward (2000), Reggie Williams (2004), Matt Jones (2005) and Justin Blackmon (2012) -- never developed into elite players.
This season, Thomas has quickly established himself as the Jaguars' No. 1 receiver -- and one of the best in the league -- after only seven games. He leads the Jaguars in targets (45), catches (30), receiving yards (513), and receiving TDs (four). He tops rookie pass catchers in receiving yards and is second in yards per catch (17.1). And he ranks fifth in the NFL in receiving yards -- behind Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase (620), Seattle's DK Metcalf (568), Houston's Nico Collins (567) and Minnesota's Justin Jefferson (531).
On Sunday, Thomas caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in the Jaguars' 32-16 victory over the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium in London.
One of those catches was a 58-yarder, which he hauled in despite Patriots' top cornerback Christian Gonzalez hanging on his back and wrapping his arm around Thomas's shoulder. That was Thomas' fourth reception of at least 30 yards this season. It was also Lawrence's first completion of 50-plus air yards in his NFL career.
"That was honestly the look we were wanting for that play," Lawrence said after the game. "We had another option if that wasn't the coverage and the situation, but Brian did a great job of just running up the corner, keeping outside leverage, and just running with it. I put it out there and let him go make a play. It was a great catch.
"He's been making a lot of plays for us, so it's fun to watch him. It's fun to play with him [and] just to see him get better every week. We've got to keep using him."
Thomas is on pace for 73 catches for 1,246 yards and 10 touchdowns -- all of which would break the Jaguars rookie catches and yards records Blackmon set in 2012 (64 catches, 865 yards) and the receiving TD record undrafted rookie free agent Allen Hurns set in 2014 (six).
"I've still got a lot of development [to do]," said Thomas, who caught a 6-yard TD and a two-point conversion pass against the Patriots. "Still in my first year. I'm really just coming out there practicing hard and just trying to go out there in the game and do the best that I can do, be the best that I can be and just take everything step by step. Putting my best foot forward each and every day and get better."
BRIAN THOMAS, JR. 85-YARD TD
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Back in the spring, offensive coordinator Press Taylor praised Thomas' ability to quickly pick up the offense.
"He can handle a lot," Taylor said. "That was one of the things that we've been most impressed with him early on. You'd never see it to the naked eye, but we change personnel so much. There are times he plays Z, times he plays X, and he's able to do that really well.
"The mental aptitude to be able to handle a lot of that as a young player [is impressive]."
Thomas' development is good for Lawrence because it gives him something he hasn't had since he played at Clemson: a big-bodied receiver who makes plays down the field.
From 2018-19 Lawrence was throwing passes to Justyn Ross (6-foot-3) and Tee Higgins (6-foot-4). Ross (112 catches for 1,865 yards and 17 touchdowns) and Higgins (118 passes for 2,103 yards and 25 touchdowns) averaged 16.7 and 17.8 yards per catch, respectively, in those two seasons.
Thomas (6-foot-4), though, has something that Ross and Higgins do not: elite speed. Thomas ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine and showed that off on his 85-yard touchdown reception against Indianapolis in Week 5 when he reached a top speed of 22.15 mph, the fastest of any ball carrier this season on a scoring play.
"He's an easy runner," Jaguars safety Darnell Savage said. "He just kind of glides when he runs. He's got them long strides, so it doesn't really look like he's digging, but he's covering ground."
Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels knows Thomas more than most people. Thomas, Daniels and Malik Nabers -- all first-round picks last April -- played together at LSU, so they've seen parts of Thomas' personality that others haven't.
"[Thomas] didn't really talk [except] to select people," Daniels said. "He didn't really talk unless he was super comfortable around you."
On the field, though? That's different, Daniels said.
"He had the same mindset as me and Malik," he said. "Go out there and just kill and be one of the best."
Daniels said Thomas was pretty feisty on the field, so he wasn't surprised when he was asked about the two different sides of Thomas' personality. But Thomas' new Jaguars teammates were caught off guard when they saw his vocal side in the season opener.
"On the field he just comes alive and you see some of that spark and some of that competitiveness," Lawrence said. "When he makes plays you see him celebrating or whatever it is and he'll let the DB know about it."
Now, Thomas' teammates are feeding off his confidence.
"It's a huge spark for our team," tight end Evan Engram said. "I told him he may be a rookie, you might be quiet, but that energy you had on Sunday, the confidence that we saw come out of you, that's going to help our team. We see it and we feel it."
And hear it.