The Jacksonville Jaguars are off to an encouraging start to the 2025 season. That said, several issues are holding them back, and unless they correct them, they won't be able to make a legitimate playoff run. Chief among them is their drops.
The Jags lead the NFL in drops with 13, and their drop rate ranks first among all 32 teams three weeks into the season. Heck, they had five alone in the win over the Houston Texans, and they might not have come out on top if the defense hadn't stepped up.
Fortunately, the coaching staff is taking the necessary steps to correct the issue.
The Jaguars are trying to cut down on the drops
Just before the Week 4 game against the San Francisco 49ers, Mia O'Brien of ESPN reported that the Jags made a concerted effort to get Brian Thomas Jr. reps whenever they could, noting that every throw in practice (even a walkthrough) required a receiver catch."
Truly a concerted effort to get Brian Thomas Jr catches any time it presents itself.
— Mia O'Brien (@MiaOBrienTV) September 26, 2025
In another world (or training camp), WRs may be working elsewhere at this point, QBs throwing to assistant coaches.
Not this week. Every “throw” (even a walk through) requires a WR catch… pic.twitter.com/rP0r1Fi4nV
This sounds like something most teams would do, but it isn't always the case. The fact that Jacksonville is putting an emphasis goes on to show that they want to buck the trend.
For his part, head coach Liam Coen told the local media ahead of the 49ers game that he was pleased with the work the receiver corps put in, noting that they're doing their best to be ready come game day.
"I think it was solid. We're trying to take the right steps moving forward," Coen said (2:29 mark). "They're doing a ton of extra in the walkthroughs. They're doing a ton of extra post-practice to, ultimately go and put ourselves in a position to make those plays on Sunday, right? It's just building their confidence to go out. And we've all seen these guys make great plays and make the routine ones routine."
Coen continued, "And then also, man, this is the NFL. We do have to go up and make plays, and the quarterback's got a responsibility. The O-Line got a responsibility in the past game. But I've got a lot of confidence in these guys to go out and do it on Sunday."
After three weeks, Jacksonville ranks 13th in passing yards and 16th in passing touchdowns. While those aren't necessarily bad numbers, Trevor Lawrence's completion rate is 55.8 percent. Imagine how much better that stat would look if he and their receivers had made a few more plays.
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The Jaguars need Trevor Lawrence and the receivers to step up
Brian Thomas Jr. is rightly under scrutiny for this slow start to his sophomore campaign. But as Liam Coen said, not all the blame falls on the second-year wide receiver. Trevor Lawrence's confidence has been off at times, and Parker Washington also had two crucial drops in Week 3.
If the Jaguars want to pull off the upset in Week 4, Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas, and the rest of the receiver unit must step up. Based on Liam Coen's remarks, he's confident they will.