Six weeks into the regular season, several NFL teams find themselves in need of help at wide receiver, so nobody will bat an eye if the Jacksonville Jaguars have been getting plenty of calls about Brian Thomas Jr. ahead of the November 10 deadline after benching him in Week 6.
Thomas took the league by storm as a rookie, registering 82 receptions for 1,282 yards with 10 touchdowns. However, he's seen his production drop the past two years due to inconsistency and drops. While it's hard to tell what's affecting the 2024 first-round pick, you can bet that it's not talent, so a club may want to take a flyer on him in hopes of resurrecting his career.
The Jags have made it clear at different points of the year that they're not interested in trading Thomas, though, but if they change their mind, former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Trai Essex believes his former team should make a push for him.
Trai Essex urges the Steelers to trade for Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr.
Trai Essex took to social media to make the case for Pittsburgh to trade for Brian Thomas Jr., arguing that his rookie season wasn't an outlier.
"Brian Thomas Jr. needs to be a Steeler," Essex wrote on Twitter. "Not sure why he fell out of favor down in JAX, but I don't think that rookie year was an anomaly."
The Steelers could most definitely use Thomas in light of injuries at receiver. Roman Wilson and Michael Pittman Jr. are on injured reserve, and DK Metlcalf has been underwhelming. They're 4-2 after beating the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so they may want to get reinforcements if they want to improve their odds of making a playoff push.
It's worth noting that the Jags are set to face Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football later this season, so if they trade him to Steel City, it will be because they're sure he won't be a threat.
If Jacksonville wants to trade Thomas out of the AFC, the Washington Commanders may be the top destination because he would be reunited with his quaterback at LSU, Jayden Daniels. The Los Angeles Rams would also make sense because they'll be without Davante Adams for six to 10 weeks.
You may also like: AFC South Week 7 power rankings: The Jags are vulnerable
The Jaguars have shown Brian Thomas Jr. lots of patience, can't keep waiting
Just recently, Jarvis Landry argued that Jacksonville needs to be more patient with Thomas in spite of his struggles, arguing that even the best receivers have dealt with drops throughout their career. The issue is that the Jags have shown plenty of patience with Thomas, but he's been unable to take advantage of his chances.
At this point, it's fair to imagine Thomas will get back on track in Duval precisely because he's simply failed to make the most of his opportunities. For that reason, a trade and a change of scenery could be the best course of action for him and the Jags.
And based on Trai Essex's post, Brian Thomas Jr. will draw lots of interest, if the Jaguars make him available.
Add us as a preferred source on Google