Why Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. is most fascinating (and confusing) player on NFL rumor mill

NFL teams are already making moves ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline, and it is expected several more will be coming over the next two weeks. 

One of the most fascinating names that keeps getting mentioned is Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and it's a little hard to pinpoint why he is on there.

His presence as a trade candidate should create a lot of questions. 

Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. is fascinating name on NFL trade rumor mill

Usually when a team is looking to trade veteran players, it is doing so because it sees its playoff chances slipping away and wants to collect draft assets for the future. 

But Jacksonville isn't a team whose playoff chances are slipping away.

The 4-2 Jaguars are a legitimate contender in the AFC and, through the first seven weeks, look like one of the league's best teams. It is not a team that should be looking to sell or should have any interest in subtracting. 

Thomas Jr. is also a recent first-round pick, in just the third year of his career and not set to be a free agent after this season. So there really isn't an incentive or need to move on from him.

Is a mid-round pick really that enticing? 

It should be a red flag to rival teams that a contender, with an offensive-minded coach, would have an interest (or at least potential interest) in moving on from that type of player.

After emerging as a potential impact player as a rookie, catching 87 passes for 1,282 yards, Thomas Jr. has seen his role steadily decrease over the past two years (another potential red flag). It is at the point now where he is barely even seeing the football come his way, and spent most of their Week 6 game not even seeing the field.

The argument in his favor for the Jaguars is that he is still a potential deep threat and draws coverage downfield, opening up underneath passing routes for the rest of the offense. But if he's not getting the ball, and is not making plays, there's only so much opposing defenses are going to worry about. 

Especially when he has consistently struggled with dropped passes and has seen his catch percentage drop every year he has been in the league, going from 65.4% as a rookie, down to 52.7% in year two, and down to 45.0% so far in year three. 

It's clear the Jaguars have simply found wide receivers and playmakers they like better in Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers. 

Maybe a team looks at Thomas Jr. and sees his rookie performance and thinks it can rediscover that production and get more out of him. Maybe it sees a player who needs a fresh start and a bigger role.

Even then, there is a chance that rookie performance was somewhat inflated by the situation that season in Jacksonville.

That was a four-win team that spent most of the season trailing on the scoreboard and didn't have a lot going for it on offense. There was going to be a lot of throwing with the team in comeback mode so often. Somebody was going to catch those passes. Somebody was going to get those yards. Even bad teams have leading receivers, and Thomas was going to get a lot of that volume given the lack of talent around him. It doesn't necessarily mean that he was destined for stardom in the NFL or that his production that year was a sign of things to come on a contender. 

He's an interesting player. An obvious talent, and one who understandably intrigues teams. There are also some cause for concern if you are a team in the market for a wide receiver that should not be ignored.