Brian Thomas Jr. has been on quite the ride in his young career.
The Jacksonville Jaguars
receiver burst onto the scene with a stellar rookie season in 2024, totaling 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns after being selected with the No. 23 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He experienced a sharp drop in production during Liam Coen's first season as head coach in 2025 and the bottom has completely dropped out in 2026.Now the receiver's future appears to be up in the air after failing to play a snap in the second half of Week 6. That was until Coen seemed to reopen the door for Thomas to become a factor again when he met with the media on Monday, Oct. 26.
"Every week's different," Coen said. "And
I think that's what's kind of special about this group. Every week you got to get new people stepping up and making plays, and he's no different."
The coach even gave Thomas a vote of confidence for Week 8, suggesting that he will be part of the game plan when the Jaguars battle the Indianapolis Colts.
"He's going to be able to help us make plays this week," Coen said. "I bet it. I know it. We're going to continue to support him and put our arm around him and continue to do what we got to do to make plays on Sundays and we got to continue to put him in the best position to do so."
Thomas has just nine catches for 105 yards and a touchdown this season. He failed to haul in one of five targets across two games in London.
His last catch came in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
While Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers have passed Thomas on the depth chart, Coen applauded Thomas for continuing to work at his craft.
"BT works at it," Coen said. "He cares about this. He cares about winning and losing and cares about his team. We all want to see guys have success individually, but I'm excited about attacking this week with BT."
With the trade deadline looming, there is always a chance that it could be a showcase game for the third-year receiver. Of course, an injury or some poor play from others could result in Thomas' insertion back into the circle of trust.
One way or another, the former LSU standout will have some clarity on his future soon.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Liam Coen sends strong message on Brian Thomas Jr. amid Jaguars trade rumors
