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Should Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. be considered for rookie of the year? Pederson explains
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- Should Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. be considered for rookie of the year? Pederson explains
Has Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. done enough to be in the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year sweepstakes?
The rookie out of LSU hasn't left much to the imagination this year, dominating through his first 16 games as he quickly becomes one of the best wideouts in the league since being drafted with pick No. 23 in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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Thomas has caught 80 passes for 1,179 yards and 10 touchdowns thus far this season.
He's broken the franchise rookie records for catches, yards and touchdowns and leads all rookies this year in yards, touchdowns, yards per catch (14.7 YPC) and 75-plus receiving yard games (10). He ranks second among rookies in yards after catch (536).
He's fifth overall among all players in the league in yards and touchdowns, second in yards per catch, seventh in yards after catch and second in 75-plus receiving yard games.
HE DOES IT AGAIN: Powered by 'electric' performance by Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars sweep Titans with 20-13 win
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Last week, Thomas tied Hall of Fame WR Randy Moss' rookie record after his eighth game with at least 60 receiving yards and a touchdown. His 10 games of over 75 receiving yards are the most by a rookie in NFL history and tied with Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase for the second-most in the league trailing only Justin Jefferson (12).
If it weren't for Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels , Thomas might have a legitimate shot at earning the award.
Daniels, also a former LSU player, has completed 69.4% of his passes for 3,530 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson agrees that Daniels is the likely roadblock in Thomas' path to the honor.
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"Jayden (Daniel's) played well. He's led the Commanders to where they are and continues to play. So, yeah, if it wasn't for that, he'd definitely be in that conversation," Pederson said Wednesday when asked about Thomas' chances.
Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones said that while he's not a voter, he thinks Thomas deserves the award. Jones finished second for Rookie of the Year in 2021.
"I think he definitely is deserving of it, and he's a great player. He's meant a lot to this team this year specifically, and to do it as a rookie is pretty much insane," Jones said Wednesday. "So, hopefully, we can just finish strong in this last week, and he can also carry that momentum into the next year and for his whole career."
Brian Thomas Jr. continues a string of elite talent out of LSU
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER 18: Brian Thomas Jr. #11 of the LSU Tigers catches a pass over Daedae Hill #6 of the Central Michigan Chippewas during the second quarter at Tiger Stadium on September 18, 2021 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Thomas' success shouldn't come as a surprise.
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Over the last decade, LSU has produced several elite receivers.
The run began in 2014 when Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry were drafted.
Beckham finished his NFL career with 575 catches for 7,987 yards and 59 touchdowns. He's thought of as one of the best receivers in his era of football.
Sep 7, 2013; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Odell Beckham (3) is congratulated by wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) after scoring a touchdown against the UAB Blazers during the first quarter at Tiger Stadium.
While Landry didn't enjoy as much success as Beckham, he still flourished in the roles given to him, catching 713 passes for 7,870 yards and 38 touchdowns in his career.
Six years later Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase were sent to the big leagues and this year Thomas and Malik Nabers are the talk of the league, excelling after spending years with the Tigers.
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Jefferson and Chase are widely thought to be two of the best wideouts in the league, if not the top two receivers since they were drafted in 2020.
Jan 13, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Justin Jefferson (2) and LSU Tigers wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) celebrate after a play during the second quarter against the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jefferson has caught 100 passes for 1,479 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Chase leads the league this year in receptions (117), yards (1,612) and touchdowns (16).
Now, Thomas is keeping up the formula and is one of four players in the Super Bowl era to catch 1,100-plus receiving yards and 10-plus touchdowns as a rookie.
That list, unsurprisingly, consists of Thomas, Beckham, Chase and Moss.
Nabers has caught 104 passes for 1,140 yards and six touchdowns, proving to be among the top wideouts in the league.
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Thomas will have a chance this week to move past Beckham for receiving yards by a rookie in NFL history and move into the top five just ahead of Randy Moss. Beckham had 1,305 yards, Moss had 1,313 and Thomas needs just 135 against the Colts to pass both.
Pederson gives 'benchmark' for Thomas' ceiling, calls him a 'game changer'
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 29: Brian Thomas Jr. #7 of the Jacksonville Jaguars catches a touchdown pass against Jarvis Brownlee Jr. #29 of the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at EverBank Stadium on December 29, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
Since starting wideout Christian Kirk went down with a broken collarbone in Week 8, Thomas has taken on a bigger role with the team.
That role expanded a few weeks later after Thomas recovered from a rib injury sustained in the same game Kirk was hurt in. At the same time, wideout Gabe Davis went down with a serious knee injury, paving the way for Thomas to be the team's primary target.
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Since Week 13, Thomas is sixth in the league in receiving yards with 490, fifth in the league in receptions (38) and tied for second in the league in touchdowns (five).
His ceiling is starting to show through in his play and Pederson had high praise for the rookie.
"The benchmark would have to be a guy like Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, right? I think it'd have to be those types of receivers," Pederson mused. "Obviously, his rookie numbers this year, we talked about Randy Moss, who's a Hall of Fame Receiver — not putting BT in the Hall of Fame yet, but he's got at least a start."
Pederson went a step further, noting just how valuable Thomas has been to the team.
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"I think you gotta look at Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr (Chase), those guys, and say 'hey, if he's in that company, then I think you can continue to get better and those guys continue to improve, and their ceiling is extremely high and they're impact players for their teams," said Pederson.
"They're game changers for their teams, and that's what we see Brian Thomas as."
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: Should Brian Thomas Jr. be first Jaguars rookie of the year recipient?
