After Monday’s practice, Jaguars’ QB Trevor Lawrence shared what he’s seeing from Brian Thomas Jr. heading into Year 2.
After an outstanding rookie season from Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence can feel the confidence that the second-year wide receiver has during the current offseason programs.
“I think, obviously the talent’s always been there,” Lawrence said after Monday’s practice, “but I mean the confidence, obviously, off the year he had, and what he’s done. Now he has a full year on his belt where he’s one of the top receivers in the league. I think my confidence in him, seeing him do his thing for a year now, and just you get that one one-on-one, you feel really confident about our guy.”
In his first season, Thomas wasn’t just the most productive rookie receiver in what was a loaded draft class, but he was one of the most productive receivers in all of the NFL.
Thomas would go on to catch 67% of his 129 targets while averaging 14.7 yards per catch. His 1,282 receiving yards were the fourth-most among all wideouts, and he hauled in 10 touchdowns, according to PFF.
Making this feat even more impressive was that Thomas put up these numbers while opponents knew he was getting the ball. Also, without Lawrence for several games, the Jaguars’ offense had to navigate up and down quarterback play as well.
“Just being able to watch him, even though I wasn’t playing, be able to watch his one to watch his one-on-one reps, the stuff we were doing with him last year, and the situations he was put in, and how he was able to adapt and play the slot and move outside and really take advantage of every matchup,” Lawrence said.
“I think that also gave me a ton of confidence in seeing this is a guy you can move him anywhere, you can do anything and he’s gonna just find a way to get the ball because he’s that good.”
“I think that also gave me a ton of confidence in seeing like this is a guy where you can move him anywhere, you can do anything, and he’s going to just find a way to get the ball.”
As good as that first season was, offensive coordinator Grant Udinski mentioned earlier this offseason that there is still plenty of growth and potential out there for Thomas.
Getting to that next level as a wideout isn’t only about production, but also about how Thomas is utilized within Liam Coen’s offense. In this system, we are going to see Thomas moved around more pre-snap, which will include more opportunities from the slot, and he’s going to attack different levels of the field more often and in different ways.
Already a difficult matchup for opposing defenses, Thomas’ ability to win in a variety of ways and from different alignments can be an added stressor for defenders to contend with.
“Just a lot of confidence in him,” Lawrence added. “He’s smart. He’s picking it up. It’s another system he’s learning. It’s two years in, it’s two systems, and just been impressed by how he carries himself. The work he puts in, you can tell he studies, because he comes in here, he knows his stuff. It’s not an easy system to learn, and he’s done a really, really nice job.”
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