Brian Thomas Jr. makes early case for OROY honors with strong outing for Jaguars

Several players came through for the Jacksonville Jaguars in their 37-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts. One of them was first-year wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who's playing like a vested veteran five games into the 2024 NFL season. The former LSU Tiger has been so productive that he most definitely deserves early consideration for the Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Thomas had five receptions for 122 yards with one touchdown in the win over Indy. Among the catches he had, his 85-yard grab for a touchdown stood out the most.

For the season, the Louisiana native has reeled in 22 catches for 397 yards, both team-highs. Similarly, he ranks sixth in the league among receivers and his average of 18.0 yards per reception is the fourth-best in the NFL. Simply put, Thomas is having an immediate impact in his rookie season. On top of that, he's giving the Jaguars' offense a vertical element it had sorely been lacking for nearly a decade.

If that wasn't enough, Thomas ranks fifth among rookie wideouts in receiver yards through five weeks, as Andrew Kessler of 904 Analytics points out.

While there's no doubt that Thomas' stock has gotten a boost, he'll need to keep playing at a high level to become a sure-fire candidate for OROY honors. Fellow wideout Malik Nabers leads all NFL receivers with 35 receptions while quarterback Jayden Daniels has turned the Washington Commanders into a playoff-caliber team. Add dark horses like running back Braelon Allen, and Thomas will need to keep playing at a high level to stay in the thick of the race.

The Jaguars should be glad they have a receiver as rare as Brian Thomas Jr.

Following the win over the Indianapolis Colts, Trevor Lawrence talked about how important Brian Thomas Jr. is and how unique his skillset is.

"There's not that many guys like it. You see a few around the league that are fast and can break away and get in the open field," Lawrence said when asked what is like to have a receiver as fast as Thomas. "There's really nobody that's going to come that's going to catch him on the other side of the ball. He's definitely one of those guys. So the more we can find opportunities to get him the ball in those situations, we're gonna score a lot of points with him."

Lawrence continued, "But I thought beyond that, just being in the right spot, doing the right thing, he did a nice job today. I thought we played the game on schedule. We weren't perfect. You're never gonna be perfect in this league. There's still some stuff to learn from, and there's a couple miscues out there that'll be good to turn on the tape and get better from it, but I thought he did a great job of playing smart, being in the right spot."

Here's Lawrence's exchange with the media, where he also talks about the 85-yard touchdown pass to Thomas in detail.

It's easy to forget it now, but the Jaguars wouldn't have drafted Brian Thomas Jr. if they had managed to re-sign Calvin Ridley in free agency. Looking back, they're surely glad things played out the way they did as they now have an early Offensive Player of the Year candidate and a dynamic weapon in place for the foreseeable future.

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