NFL Media’s Adam Rank offers an interesting twist in his previews of every team in the league before the 2024 season, sharing his “hottest” fantasy football take for each squad.
When it comes to the Jaguars, he wants fantasy football players to remember the name Brian Thomas Jr.
Rank wrote in his “State of the Jaguars” assessment Friday that their first-round rookie receiver, Thomas, could be in for a big debut season considering the big-play potential he brings to Jacksonville’s offense.
Beware of overlooking Brian Thomas Jr.
I don’t know where you rank the LSU receiver, but I’d guess you’re way too low. I thought he should have gone much higher in April’s draft than he did (23rd overall), but I do think he found a really good landing spot with the Jaguars. Even if he has to fight Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis and Evan Engram for targets, Thomas has big-play potential, given that he led the FBS with 12 deep receiving touchdowns (those of 20-plus air yards) in 2023. He might be better suited for best-ball leagues, but I’m taking him this year.
Thomas exploded during his junior season with LSU, leading to his Day 1 draft selection by Jacksonville following its six-spot trade down from No. 17 with Minnesota. He caught 68 passes for 1,177 yards (17.3 yards per reception) and an FBS-leading 17 touchdowns in his final campaign with the Tigers.
The Jaguars coveted Thomas as a long-term replacement for Calvin Ridley, who led the team with 1,016 receiving yards in his lone season with Jacksonville last year, following his 2022 trade from Atlanta. He signed a four-year, $92 million contract with Tennessee in March.
The 6-foot-3, 209-pound Thomas’ speed, overall skill set and intelligence have quickly stood out to his new teammates and coaches.
“Brian is what we expected. He is long, fast and smart. So, those things have shown up early on of getting him involved,” Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor said about Thomas on May 28.
Taylor credited Kirk, Davis — a March free agent signee of Jacksonville’s, formerly with Buffalo — and Jaguars wide receivers coach Chad Hall for helping Thomas quickly become acclimated during offseason workouts.
“He spent a lot of the meeting time with Chad and being around Christian, Gabe, who [doesn’t] necessarily knows our system, but knows the NFL and what things are going to look like. I think it’s been really good for him.
“You see obviously the intelligence in the quick twitch, in the long speed show up throughout our practices as we go through things, or even routes on air. He grows every single day. He is a guy that’s very easy to communicate with because he’s intelligent. Football comes naturally to him. Learning, picturing concepts, understanding routes, how we’re attacking certain coverages. So, you see his growth every day, which is fun to see.”
Per Fantasy Pros, Thomas’ current consensus fantasy football average draft position is No. 118 overall. He’s the consensus No. 45-ranked PPR wide receiver.
