It takes a few years to truly assess a draft pick, but there's no doubt that the Jacksonville Jaguars hit it out of the ballpark when they picked Brian Thomas Jr. at No. 23 in 2024. The former LSU Tiger went on to have a banner season, and if teams knew how impressive he would be, he wouldn't lasted as long as he did. Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report knows that and took it into consideration in his latest do-over.
Davenport re-did the 2024 NFL Draft and had Thomas going to the New York Giants at No. 6, noting that they needed to get then-quarterback Daniel Jones a bonafide No. 1 receiver.
Originally, the G-Men drafted Malik Nabers, who was also productive in 2024 but not nearly as much as Thomas. The sixth overall pick hauled in 109 receptions for 1,204 yards with seven touchdowns. That's nothing to scoff at, but his 11.0 yards per reception wasn't nearly as good as Thomas' average.
Thomas averaged 14.7 yards per reception and caught 82 receptions for 1,292 yards with 10 touchdowns. Moreover, he gave the Jaguars offense a verticality element that it had been missing for nearly a decade.
This begs the question, who did Jacksonville get in Davenport's do-over if Thomas went to New York? Ladd McConkey, who went to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 34.
Davenport says that McConkey isn't nearly as dynamic as Thomas but could still help the Jaguars. Here's the skinny.
"The Jaguars are another team that has been done dusty in this NFL redraft. Before, the team grabbed arguably the best receiver in this draft class outside the top 20. Now, it's scramble mode—and a different type of wideout.
However, just because Ladd McConkey might not have the explosiveness Brian Thomas Jr. possesses doesn't mean he isn't an excellent pass catcher in his own right. McConkey wasted little time becoming Justin Herbert's top target in the Chargers' passing game—for the season McConkey tallied 82 catches for 1,149 yards and seven scores."
As you can see, McConkey also played like a vested veteran, and quarterback Justin Herbert routinely talked about how important the rookie wideout was to the Bolts' success last year.
The Jaguars wouldn't mind Ladd McConkey but wouldn't trade Brian Thomas Jr. for anything in the world
Heading into the draft, Brian Thomas Jr. was seen as the fourth-best receiver prospect behind Rome Odunze, Marvin Harrison Jr., and teammate Malik Nabers. Had teams known how good he was going to be, he wouldn't have lasted until No. 23.
Heck, the Jags considered trading up for either Nabers or Odunze but ended up moving down to No. 23 and still managed to land Thomas. Heck, they took the risk because they knew there was a chance the Louisiana native would still be on the board, he was, and he went on to dominate as a rookie.
On the other hand, McConkey would be a solid consolation prize. In fact, he was a highly productive receiver at Georgia but he raised concerns during the draft process because he had a less-than-ideal size, and clubs wondered whether he was going to be able to withstand the hits he would get in the NFL. He did, and there's a chance he would've been a first-round selection if teams hadn't been worried about his frame.
This goes on to show that the draft process is far from perfect, and potential red flags may not ultimately be anything to be concerned about. Fortunately for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers, it all worked out in their favor and allowed them to land Brian Thomas Jr. and Ladd McConkey, respectively.