Several players came up clutch for the Jacksonville Jaguars in their not-pretty but gritty win against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5. Parker Washington scored two touchdowns, while Cam Little nailed the game-winning field goal after running back Ameer Abdullah put him in range to make the kick. On the other hand, the Jags also leaned on Brian Thomas Jr., but unlike his teammates, he failed to come through... twice.
Thomas dropped a catch in the Philadelphia end zone that could have tied the game 14-14 just before halftime. Later in the fourth quarter, No. 7 had a chance to score again but failed to keep both feet inbounds.
Just one week after showing progress, Thomas took a massive step back, finishing with no catches on three targets against Philadelphia. This makes you wonder just how much faith the Jags have left in him.
Brian Thomas Jr. left much to be desired in the Jaguars' win vs. the Eagles
On a day in which Parker Washington Jr. torched the Philadelphia secondary for six catches for 124 yards with two touchdowns in Week 5, Brian Thomas Jr. was a non-factor. Similarly, Jakobi Meyers was targeted as many times as Thomas (one was an overthrow) and managed to reel in two catches for 27 yards.
Heck, rookie Josh Cameron had three catches for 43 yards. Simply put, No. 7 isn't helping his team much, and his struggles would probably dominate the conversation if Jacksonville had lost, which was a real possibility.
Keep in mind that this wouldn't be an issue if Thomas' struggles were an outlier, but this is the second game this season in which he's dealt with drops and inconsistency. Back in Week 2, the former LSU Tiger had two costly drops against the Denver Broncos.
Sure, the Jaguars have shown confidence in Thomas, but it's far to wonder just how many chances he's going to get moving forward after his latest dud.
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Brian Thomas Jr. is leaving the Jaguars without many options
The Jaguars have shown unequivocal support for Brian Thomas Jr. dating back to the offseason when he was the subject of trade chatter. More recently, head coach Liam Coen said he was confident the third-year wideout was going to make plays for his team in the near future. He certainly didn't in Week 5.
Compounding the issue is that the Arizona Cardinals just traded Marvin Harrison Jr. and a seventh-rounder to the Houston Texans in return for second and fifth-round selections. Thomas has been more productive than Harrison, so the Jags should be able to get a high draft pick for him if they put him on the trade block.
In fact, teams that were setting their sights on Harrison may want to reach out to general manager James Gladstone to see what it would take to acquire Thomas. He should most definitely listen, because it's hard to see the 2024 first-round selection turning the corner after his latest dud in the win over the Eagles.
Maybe the Jaguars won't give up Brian Thomas Jr. just yet in spite of his shortcomings, but if they do, nobody would bat an eye.
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