Who Do Jaguars Take in 2024 NFL Re-Draft?

The Jacksonville Jaguars unquestionably landed the top wide receiver of the 2024 NFL Draft class with Brian Thomas Jr.

But who would they take if there were a redo where Thomas goes in the appropriate range for his talent level?

That is the question posed by a 2024 re-draft from Sports Illustrated. With Thomas going at No. 4 to the Arizona Cardinals as the top non-quarterback in the draft class, who do the Jaguars land as an alternative?

The Jaguars end up going with one of the wide receivers teams foolishly took instead of Thomas: Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze, who was a top-10 pick last April.

"The Jaguars nailed the Thomas pick, so much so that he went off the board 19 picks before they had a chance to get him again. Odunze, however, is talented enough to produce at a similar level. The draft’s ninth pick, Odunze finished sixth among rookies with 734 receiving yards and seventh with 54 receptions while adding three touchdown grabs," Sports Illustrated said.

Odunze is the fourth wide receiver off the board in this scenario behind Thomas, Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr.

In this mock scenario, the Bears took Nabers at No. 9 over Odunze.

"Nabers ranked second among rookies with 109 catches for 1,204 yards and tied for fourth with seven touchdown receptions despite suboptimal quarterback play in New York. Odunze had a fair season in an underwhelming offense, and Chicago should be excited about what his future holds—but Nabers, who finished fifth in rookie of the year voting, is a superior player," Sports Illustrated said.

Simply put, the Jaguars landed the big fish amongst a stacked 2024 receivers class. Virtually no rankings had Thomas rated as anything higher than the No. 4 receiver, but his rookie year showed he is simply in a different class compared to the rest of his peers -- especially Odunze and Harrison.

“I think the talent has always been there. The confidence coming off the year he had and what he’s done. Now he has a full year under his belt. He’s one of the top receivers in the league. My confidence in him after seeing him do his thing for a year now, when you get the one-on-one, you feel really confident about our guy," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said this offseason.

"I have a lot of confidence in him. He’s smart, it’s another system he is learning. Two years, two systems. I have just been impressed with how he carries himself and the work he puts in. You can tell he studies because he comes in here and he knows his stuff. It’s not an easy system to learn. He’s done a really nice job.”