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Jacksonville Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. remains confident, doesn't listen to outside noise
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- Jacksonville Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. remains confident, doesn't listen to outside noise
Liam Coen made it clear: Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. isn't getting traded.
The second-year receiver also made it clear that he remains confident in his abilities, never wavering from how he knows he can perform despite some issues that plagued him through the first seven games of the season .
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Coen reiterated his confidence in Thomas ahead of the team's game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9 . He said the team and Thomas are "pushing through" his struggles.
"There's going to be a breakthrough at some point here to just connect and doing it. And you watch games from last year because obviously you're watching the Raiders from last year and you [are] watching big plays being made and all right man, it has to go happen as much as it can in practice, but also in the game it's got to come to life for that connection to truly go the way that it needs to go," said Coen, referencing Thomas' game against the Raiders last year.
Thomas said in the locker room that he went back to watch the game early this week to see what the team did against him and how he can improve against a similar defense.
Last year, in the team's 19-14 loss to the Raiders , Thomas caught nine passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. It was something he routinely did through much of that season, especially in the final seven weeks of the year.
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Thomas is currently tied for second in the NFL in drops with five this season, according to ESPN Research. He has six drops, according to Pro Football Focus, and more if you look at other sources.
Perhaps Thomas' biggest drop of the season happened against the Cincinnati Bengals in a game that Jacksonville lost by four points. Thomas dropped the ball on fourth down inside the Cincinnati 10-yard line, allowing the Bengals to have a chance to win, snatching away Jacksonville's opportunity to put the game away leading 27-24 at that point with just 3:47 left on the clock.
Instead, the Bengals were able to score a touchdown, defeating the Jaguars 31-27, and dropping the team to 1-1 on the season.
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Thomas' output, 27 catches for 365 yards, a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown, is a far cry from the expectations everyone had for him after a stellar rookie campaign.
Last season, Thomas finished with 87 catches for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He made the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Still, his confidence isn't wavering.
Brian Thomas Jr. tunes out the outside noise
Thomas has caught the most flak of any Jaguars player thus far this season, both nationally and locally besides perhaps quarterback Trevor Lawrence thus far this year.
Thomas was involved in trade rumors already, and even though it's since been debunked , his status as one of the league's top up-and-coming receivers has been bypassed for players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba , Emeka Egbuka and Puka Nacua . All of them appear in most lists ahead of Thomas now.
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Still, no matter what is said about the second-year wideout, Thomas remains fully confident in himself.
"High as always," Thomas said on Wednesday after being asked where his confidence was. "I feel like I know what I could do. I know what I'm capable of, so my confidence is always high."
Even with all of the noise and the prevalence of younger players being glued to social media, Thomas said he hasn't let it in or been bothered by it.
"Not really. I don't, really. I mean, you see it every now [and then] and I don't really pay attention to it. It is what it is. Everybody got their own opinion," said Thomas.
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His mindset over the next stretch of the season? Keeping the main thing the main thing, and not going outside of what he knows he's capable of.
"Go out there each and every game, get involved. Compete, even if you don't do the best. Come out next week, try to do better than what you did last week. So yeah, that's been my mindset. Put my best foot forward every day, come out and compete," said Thomas.
And his QB has plenty of confidence in him.
Trevor Lawrence believes in Brian Thomas Jr. despite connection struggle
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) looks on to quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the 10th organized team activity at Miller Electric Center Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
One player who hasn't wavered on Thomas? QB Trevor Lawrence has worked with the second-year wideout since the latter came on board in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
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Lawrence hasn't necessarily wavered from throwing to Thomas, either. Thomas hasn't had fewer than six targets this year and had 10 targets with eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown in Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks .
"I'm very confident. I've had some really good conversations with Brian. I think we've gotten closer, really the last — obviously over the last couple of years, as this has gone. And I have a lot of confidence in him, and he's such a young player," Lawrence said about Thomas when asked about his confidence.
"I mean, he is in his second year, and I think that's part of developing as a player in this league, and I've gone through a lot of my own challenges as well in times where maybe I didn't play my best and felt like I was leaving some stuff out there. And so I think us just having that relationship, being able to talk to him, he's been awesome with me and very receptive, and I think the communication has been great, and I've got all the confidence that he's going to play really well and be just fine."
Lawrence isn't concerned and said the team and Thomas just have to keep going, working on their chemistry. He also made sure to admit, too, that it's not just on Thomas — Lawrence has his share of the blame, too.
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"He's got me throwing the ball; there are some things I can do better. He's got 10 other guys that are out there with him that also need to do a better job. So, it's not just him," Lawrence reiterated.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars Brian Thomas Jr. confident, unbothered by slump
