The 2024 season is one the Jacksonville Jaguars would surely like to forget. Heck, they cleaned house after coming up short of expectations for the second straight year. Then again, not everything was doom and gloom. They were far and few between, but there were most definitely bright spots. The head-turning play of Brian Thomas Jr. was one of them. NFL analyst Sam Monson was certainly impressed.
During the draft process, Monson had Thomas as WR4 because he wasn't sure he could make the leap to the NFL after mostly running vertical routes at LSU. However, he's changed his tune after watching him play and now believes the former Tiger could be the best receiver of his class.
Monson told co-host Setve Palazzolo during their Check the Mic podcast that he had reservations about Thomas, but now is convinced he has all it takes to be one of the top receivers in the NFL.
"I haven't turned around, I don't think, on any individual player over the course of their rookie seasons more than have for Brian Thomas Jr. Did not love him as a prospect. Not that I didn't see the traits, like the size, the speed, the explosiveness, the twitchiness," Monson told Palazzolo. "But I just didn't know how much like he was not asked to do an awful lot at LSU, all the kind of asks, the big asks were going to Malik Nabers. And I was like, I don't know if he can be more than a sort of vertical route tree type of guy at a time where the league is suddenly pivoting to two high safeties taking away those explosives, etc, etc."
Monson continued, "So my expectations were not hugely high for a guy like Brian Thomas Jr. And yet he looks special like he looks not only like he can be the best wide receiver from this draft class, but that he can be a true everything No. 1, that he can be a Ja'Marr Chase, that can win at all levels, that can win with all routes, that can do everything. I mean, he's great after the catch. He's great vertically. He's great doing anything."
Later in his exchange, Monson acknowledges that fellow draftee and former LSU teammate Malik Nabers had the worst quarterback situation of the two in 2024, but Thomas didn't have great play behind center either.
"And look, dude, if you want to compare him directly to Malik Nabers, you would say Nabers definitely had the worst quarterback situation overall, but there were a ton of plays where Trevor Lawrence did not maximize a wide open Brian Thomas Jr. Like he already cooked when Matt Jones had over same thing, and he could have had way more production than he had last season. As much as, as good as he was, it could have been even better. I couldn't be any higher on him than I am right now," Monson said.
Below is the exchange between Palazzolo and Monson.
The Jaguars will put Brian Thomas Jr. in a position to take the next step in 2025
Brian Thomas Jr. ended up registering 82 receptions for 1,282 yards with 10 touchdowns. As he noted, he mostly did it catching passes from Mac Jones after Trevor Lawrence suffered a shoulder injury. But as impressive as the Jaguars receiver was in 2024, he's poised to be even better in Year 2.
Lawrence is recovering after having shoulder surgery. He should at full strength at some point of training camp. And once he's back, he'll be able to work in his connection and timming with Thomas. On top of that, the front office upgraded the wide receiver corps.
Gone are Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis. In are two-way star Travis Hunter and free-agent acquisition Dyami Brown. They'll draw coverage away from Thomas and will allow him to encounter more favorable matchups. Couple that with the fact that he now has one year of experience under his belt, and the sophomore receiver is ready to claim his place as one of the top receivers in the whole NFL.