Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. Remains On Trade Radar

The third-year receiver now appears to reside behind Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers in the Jags’ aerial pecking order, with tight end Brenton Strange’s seven receptions matching Thomas’ output thus far. Thomas has turned those seven catches into 88 yards — a number well south of Washington and Meyers’ totals (221 and 132, respectively). While it is still early, the Liam Coen era has coincided with a steep production drop from the LSU product.

Thomas’ big step back in 2025 prompted teams to gauge this situation, as interest stemming from the former No. 23 overall pick’s standout rookie season — 87 catches, 1,282 yards, 10 touchdowns — naturally developed. Calls came in before last year’s trade deadline, but the Jags — who at that point were using a healthy Hunter on offense far more than defense — stood pat. Interest reemerged in March, but the AFC South club again opted to stay the course.

Teams are still curious on the Thomas situation, though, with ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano indicating suitors will continue to express interest between now and the November trade deadline. Thomas’ status in the Jags’ passing attack not bringing an uptick from 2025 is interesting seeing as Hunter (one reception, eight yards) is now used mostly on defense. More Hunter offensive work can be expected in the coming weeks, however. That would brighten the spotlight on Thomas’ place as an auxiliary cog under Coen.

There’s belief that the wide receiver market could become quite hot whenever the trade deadline approaches. There are a number of potential destinations at which Thomas would feel much more at home, destinations with a good amount of talent at the quarterback position or a dearth of talent at the receiver spot for some reason or another. Graziano is under the impression that the 49ers, Chiefs, and Raiders could be teams to watch for Thomas.

Kansas City makes sense for obvious reasons. Usually a perennial contender, the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014 last year and failed to advance to the conference championship for the first time since 2017. Surely, they don’t think Patrick Mahomes is running out of steam, but as other players start to show their age, the team might find it prudent to continue adding talent around its core. The Raiders find themselves even with the Chiefs in the standings, to the shock of many, and they could be looking to go all in, as a result. A series of injuries has three Vegas receivers sitting on injured reserve, so Thomas would be only be looking to outpace Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor for any serious targets.

San Francisco is the mixture of those two extremes. When healthy, the 49ers are typically an annual contender, and even when unhealthy, San Francisco can usually field a quality, competitive unit. Dwarfing the issues in Vegas, the 49ers have four impact wide receivers — Ricky Pearsall, Christian Kirk, De’Zhaun Stribling, and Demarcus Robinson — on IR. Veteran Mike Evans and KhaDarel Hodge are currently questionable after sustaining injuries this weekend, and Brandon Aiyuk is still the black sheep of the group. Adding in Thomas to assist a group with only three healthy players — Deebo Samuel, Jacob Cowing, and Jordan Watkins — makes too much sense.

Further speculation could lead us to reason for many other possible destinations for the one-time Pro Bowler. Ultimately, all of this may depend on the health luck of the interested parties or on the continued development (or lack thereof) of Thomas. Time will tell just how things line up for Thomas in the future and whether or not those things lead him to a better fit and situation.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.