Who Jaguars' Liam Coen Wants to Get Going Moving Forward

Coen didn't pitch a perfect game in his debut, but he did coax some career games out of some key players, such as running back Travis Etienne Jr. and tight end Brenton Strange.

However, Jacksonville did come away with some areas for improvement. Trevor Lawrence notched his first QB win in the Coen era, but certainly could have had a better statistical day. Part of that was due to the disconnect between the quarterback and his top target, Brian Thomas Jr.

Brian Thomas Jr. had a quiet Week 1

Brian Thomas Jr. was one of the NFL's premier wide receivers as a rookie out of LSU, putting up the third-most yards in the league with 1,282 on 87 catches to go along with 10 touchdowns. That made it all the more exciting to think of what he could do as the WR1 in a Liam Coen-constructed offense.

However, his debut in the new system was a bit underwhelming, as he finished with just one catch on seven targets for 11 yards. He did register a rushing touchdown on a designed nine-yard run. That play was an encouraging testament to Coen's commitment to inspire confidence in his young players and make sure his top talents get the touches they need to impact the game. The Jaguars' head coach spoke on how he intends to involve BTJ moving forward:

"I think we try to get him a touch on the first or second drive of the game. First play of the game, right? We don't convert it. Throw him a screen low — doesn't come down with it — and then the flow of the game, we missed him on an in-breaker, which he had a lot of room to run, missed him on a corner route where he was fairly open, and then had the one on the out of bounds. So, you're talking about that's five catches right there that get him into the flow of it. It's just the way the game went. We have details of route running, timing, depth, the quarterback protection, everything goes into it. So. I fully anticipate him being able to get going.”

It's only a matter of time before Thomas Jr. has his first explosive outing under Liam Coen. The coach seems determined to get one sooner rather than later.