The Jacksonville Jaguars seem poised to see a major comeback from wide receiver Brian Thomas, Jr., who had a standout rookie year followed by a disappointing sophomore slump.
Much of the offseason conversation has revolved around re-establishing the chemistry between Thomas and quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and judging by his performance in training camp, that effort has been successful.
Thomas performed well at minicamp and OTAs, and during Day 5 of training camp — the first with pads on — Thomas excelled. He most notably connected with Lawrence for a deep ball in which he beat out Montaric Brown in coverage, and has had far fewer drops throughout training than he did in 2025.
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In his post-camp press conference, head coach Liam Coen noted that Thomas' chemistry has been growing, not just with Lawrence, but with the rest of the team as well, and reiterated that unlocking Thomas will elevate the entire offense.
"The connection, man, the chemistry between not just he and Trevor, but us, right? Me as a coach, as a play caller, the rest of the group, the entire team's confidence and swagger that that brings," Coen said. "When you can throw the ball over somebody's head, it's a threat, man. And it's something that we need. We need not just him to be able to do that, but some of the other reps that I mean, he's run a lot of routes out here that maybe weren't getting targeted to him, that he's won as well, that I've been pleased with. So it's just I think it brings everybody up. It elevates everybody's game when he's playing at his highest level."
Thomas is known for being a deep threat, though he has shown that he can win on a wide variety of other routes as well. Nevertheless, that reputation, along with his speed and agility, has cemented him as a major threat for defenses to focus on, which therefore gives other receivers the freedom to make big plays of their own. It's for this exact reason that Coen has repeatedly argued that Thomas' success will impact the offense overall.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. shines as connection with Trevor Lawrence grows
