Is Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. a Top 10 WR?

Trent Baalke is not every Jacksonville Jaguars fan's favorite person when it comes to recent franchise history. The former general manager had tendencies to make out-of-pocket signings with massive contracts that were hard to move off from. However, it is hard to ignore the success he has had with draft selections in recent years.

That includes the 2024 NFL Draft when the Jaguars drafted former LSU All-American standout Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round. At 6-foot-4, 209 pounds, Thomas moves like someone who is six inches shorter and 10-20 pounds lighter with incredible quickness and explosiveness.

Thomas was seen as a more raw playmaker with room to grow in several areas such as separation ability, route tree expansion, and winning at the line of scrimmage with more consistency. He squashed many of those concerns with an outstanding rookie season where he broke the rookie franchise record for yards, receptions, and touchdowns catches with 87 catches for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The former first-round pick finished the year with the third-most receiving yards in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie while tallying votes for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Thomas has all but established himself as the Jaguars No. 1 passing game target heading into training camp with quarterback Trevor Lawrence tossing the football his way. The arrow is pointed upward for Thomas and his potential as a top-flight pass-catcher in the league.

The biggest one is if he is already there. Is Thomas a Top 10 wideout in the NFL just one year into his professional career?

Thomas' potential is to be in the top tier of wide receivers in this sport. That means joining the ranks of the league's WR1 Justin Jefferson along with tier 1 playmakers A.J. Brown and Ja'Marr Chase. CeeDee Lamb, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Nico Collins all have an argument to be the league's top receiver in the game, making that six players already within the Top 10, subjectively speaking.

Then, Thomas might be in the cluster of guys like Puka Nacua, Tyreek Hill, Mike Evans, Garrett Wilson, fellow second-year Malik Nabers, and Terry McLaurin. As of right now, Thomas has put himself, at best, within the Top 15 players at his position.

This is a player that still has plenty of room to grow despite having a monster rookie season. Thomas is only going to get better and will be the focal point of the Jaguars potential dynamic passing attack in 2025. In head coach Liam Coen's wide-zone offenses, the wide receiver play a significant role, which could put the second-year standout on the verge of another big year to establish himself among the best in the game.

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