Earlier this week, a surprising rumor circulated revolving around Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. Amid the sophomore's struggles this season, a report said that the Jaguars were listening to trade offers for Thomas Jr. While the report said that a trade was unlikely, Jacksonville was not completely shutting the door on a Thomas Jr trade.
Jaguars head coach Liam Coen quickly shut down these rumors. Speaking to reporters during their bye week, Coen firmly said that “We have no plans on moving Brian Thomas Jr at all,” according to Jordan Schultz. The coach also said that the bye week was the perfect time for Thomas Jr to reset and hopefully lock in for the next few weeks.
Thomas Jr had an electric rookie season for the Jaguars, finishing with over 1,200 yards last season. The hope for the Jaguars was that the sophomore would continue his great performance in Year 2. While they drafted Travis Hunter with the second overall pick, Jacksonville was looking at Thomas Jr to evolve into a true WR1 threat.
Instead, Thomas Jr's biggest flaws were amplified this season. Even in his breakout rookie year, the Jaguars wide receiver had a few questionable drops, finishing with seven drops on the year. Through seven games this season, Thomas Jr has already had more drops with nine, for an abysmal 16.4% drop rate. His struggles catching the ball in the middle of the field have severely neutered his ability to make a play.
Thomas Jr's struggles this season are a key reason why the Jaguars have been struggling to gain any sort of consistency this season on offense. They scored a big win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5, but have since lost their next two games to the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. Thomas Jr had a great game against the Seahawks (eight catches on ten targets, 80 yards, and a touchdown), but he followed that up with a three-catch game against the Rams where he was targeted seven times.
