Jaguars HC's effusive praise of Brian Thomas Jr. doesn't match Madden ranking

• Liam Coen is high on Brian Thomas Jr. The Madden video game franchise? Not so much.

Dec 29, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) greets a young fan after the game against the Tennessee Titans  at EverBank Stadium.
Dec 29, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) greets a young fan after the game against the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Stadium. | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. took the NFL by storm in 2024. Not surprisingly, head coach Liam Coen thinks he'll be an integral piece of the Jacksonville Jaguars offense next season. But despite his rookie heroics, the Madden video game franchise doesn't think he's worthy of a top rating.

Madden released its top rookie ratings following the end of the 2024 season. Tight end Brock Bowers leads the pack with an 88 overall. Defensive end Jared Verse is second at 88 while quarterback Jayden Daniels is third at 85. Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell comes at No. 4 with an 84 score and the fifth spot went to running back Bucky Irving, who got an 83.

All of them are deserving of praise, but it's a bit puzzling not to see Thomas in the top 5. He earned an 82 rating and barely missed the cut.

You could make the case that Thomas' rating isn't that bad, and you're kind of right. Then again, he was the best rookie wideout in the league. In fact, he outplayed Rome Odunze, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Malik Nabers. All of them were off the board when the Jags drafted Thomas with the 23rd overall pick last year.

Granted, Odunze and Nabers didn't have a great quarterback situation, but neither did Thomas, who caught passes from an inconsistent Mac Jones in the second half of 2024. To make matters worse, the coaching staff didn't seemingly have an idea of what to do with the former LSU Tiger. Still, he managed to haul in 82 receptions for 1,282 yards with 10 touchdowns.

Moreover, Thomas gave the Jaguars offense an element of verticality it had been sorely missing for nearly a decade. Rightly, he made the Pro Bowl as an alternate and garnered consideration for 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year. Simply put, the Jags hit it out of the ballpark when they drafted him.

What does Jaguars HC Liam Coen thinks of Brian Thomas Jr.

While Madden isn't sold on Brian Thomas Jr., Liam Coen is certainly impressed with him and believes he can reach new heights.

Following his introductory press conference, Coen had a sitdown with Frank Frangie of 1010 XL. He talked about how much of a game-changer Thomas is, noting that he first saw how talented he was during joint practices in the preseason last year.

"Well, I remember
when practicing here, we're on the other side, and I kept hearing uhs and ohs. I kept looking over, and I'm like, geez, what happened? So I went back and watched the tape. Yeah, geez, man, they're lightened up, doing some good things," Coen told Frangie. "And then you start to really look into this job, right?" And you start to watch more tape, watch more and you start to see the competitiveness of these guys, the opportunity."

Coen continued, "Obviously, with BTJ, the ability to go in the slot and do some of the things he was able to do. I didn't know we had that skill set. So that was such a pleasant surprise to see. And then you see the two running backs, the quarterback, obviously, some of the pieces on the O-Line that we can continue to improve on. And it's the overall theme of, man, this is not a four-win team. Hey, how do we go from losing games right and beating ourselves?

"Hey, we're gonna get beat right? That's gonna happen at some point, right? But if we don't beat ourselves, we got a much better chance of beating our opponent as well."

The Jaguars and Bucs held joint practices in the 2024 preseason, and Thomas got the spotlight, with head coach Todd Bowles praising his speed and talent. Below is the full exchange with Frangie where Coen talks about his vision for the Jaguars.

Wait a minute, did Coen just say he plans to use Thomas in the slot? Surely, he wouldn't just have him play inside. Instead, expect the Jaguars head coach to look for creative ways to deploy the star receiver all over the line of scrimmage.

The bottom line is that Liam Coen knows he has a playmaker in Brian Thomas Jr. regardless of the Madden rating he gets.

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