Brian Thomas Jr. Scouting Report        

Thomas has all the tools to make an immediate impact as a deep-ball weapon and spike-week fantasy play.

• Size
• Speed
• Ball Skills

But Thomas' dynasty value will ultimately hinge on whether he can develop into a complete receiver and command enough volume to be a consistent fantasy producer.

Is that a bet dynasty managers should be willing to make after Thomas went to Jacksonville in Round 1? Let's look for the answer ...           

Brian Thomas Jr. Draft Profile

Brian Thomas Jr. Combine Results

Percentiles vs Combine wide receivers since 1999, per MockDraftable

Brian Thomas Jr. College Stats

Multi-Sport High School Star

Thomas was a standout football and basketball player at Walker High School just outside of Baton Rouge. He racked up 1,789 receiving yards and 24 TDs over his final two seasons and was tabbed a four-star prospect.

Thomas opted to stay in-state at LSU over 15+ other scholarship offers, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Miami.

Thomas Finds Field as Freshman

Thomas made nine starts as a true freshman, finishing second among LSU WRs in snaps and third in routes – notably ahead of junior Trey Palmer and fellow freshman Malik Nabers.

His 28 receptions tied Nabers for fifth on the team. Thomas also ranked fifth in receiving yards, behind Nabers but ahead of Palmer.

Underwhelming Sophomore Season

Palmer departed for Nebraska in 2022, but it was Nabers who broke out as LSU’s top WR (72-1,017-3).

Thomas sat just the No. 4 WR in playing time. He ranked fourth on the team in catches and fifth in receiving yards.

His 5 TDs ranked second and made up 21.7% of the team total. But Thomas underwhelmed in Pro Football Focus grade and yards per route, falling outside the top 250 WRs in both metrics.

Junior Breakout

Thomas was a big part of a dominant LSU passing game this past year. The Tigers ranked third in passing yards and second in TDs, and QB Jayden Daniels won the Heisman.

Nabers remained the clear No. 1 WR, tallying 21 more catches and 392 more yards than Thomas. But Thomas led LSU – and the entire country – with 17 receiving TDs.

His market shares:

• 23.8% of the receptions
• 26.7% of the receiving yards
• 38.6% of the receiving TDs

Dominant on Deep Balls

Thomas was used primarily as a deep threat. He registered a 13.9-yard average target depth, with 25.3% of his total targets coming 20+ yards downfield.

Thomas was dominant on those deep balls, hauling in 15 of 22 targets for 670 yards and 12 TDs. The catches, yards, and TDs were all top-3 marks in the nation. His six grabs of 40+ yards ranked sixth. Thomas was one of 24 WRs to score a 99.9 PFF receiving grade on targets of 20+ yards.

Not as Good on Shorter Stuff

He wasn’t nearly as impressive on short and intermediate routes, though. In fact, Thomas averaged just 1.18 yards per route on targets of less than 20 yards. Nabers, by comparison, averaged 2.34 yards per route on those targets.

Thomas’ 2.61 yards per route on the season trailed Nabers’ 3.64 but ranked 36th among 286 qualifying WRs in the country.

He ranked just 92nd in PFF receiving grade.         

Brian Thomas Jr. Highlights

Games watched: Arkansas, Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida, Texas A&M

Thomas Loaded with Deep-Ball Tools

As his college numbers suggest, Thomas is at his best going deep.

He has all the tools to win downfield.

Speed

Thomas blazed a 4.33-second 40 time at the Combine and plays at least that fast. He regularly blew by college DBs with long-striding speed.

Can Beat Press

Thomas has the size, athleticism, and footwork to defeat press coverage. And, when he does so, he has the burst to create instant separation.

On this rep, he uses a quick jab to elude a defender off the snap and then blows by him within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.

Ball Tracking

Thomas does a nice job adjusting to balls mid-flight and flashes impressive concentration and hands to make grabs away from his frame.

Ball skills

I was most impressed by Thomas’ ball skills. When he doesn’t create big separation downfield, he has the athleticism to win by going over defenders and high-pointing the ball.

On this TD below, Thomas tracks the deep ball, slows his pace, and flashes 'late hands' to high-point the ball over the defender. Then he completes the catch to the ground despite contact. He's clearly not just a speedy, finesse receiver.

Here's another instance of Thomas fighting through contact for a score.

Per PFF, Thomas converted seven of 13 contested-catch opportunities last year.

Thomas' Ability After Catch is Mixed

Thomas’ speed and physicality are weapons after the catch. He can run away from defenders. And when he gets his 209-pound frame moving downhill, he builds enough momentum to bust through tackles.

What you won’t see Thomas do very often is make defenders miss. He’s more impressive in a straight line than he is laterally.

Thomas averaged 5.7 yards after catch per reception last year, which ranked 102nd among 286 qualifying WRs.

Route Running a Work in Progress

Thomas wasn’t asked to run a wide variety of routes at LSU. In fact, 56% of his targets last year came on ‘hitch’ or ‘go’ routes, according to PFF.

So he’s an inexperienced route runner at this point. But Thomas clearly has the size and speed to develop his separation skills.

Brian Thomas Jr. Team Fit: Jacksonville Jaguars

Thomas got Round 1 draft capital and landed in a nice spot for long-term fantasy upside.

QB Trevor Lawrence has underwhelmed so far vs. pre-draft expectations. But he's at least an above-average NFL starter who will be around for a while.

And there isn't a bonafide No. 1 WR on this Jaguars roster. WR Christian Kirk is best as a No. 2. And Gabriel Davis might not even be a No. 2.

There's nothing in Jacksonville that would prevent Thomas from hitting his ceiling.

In the shorter term, Thomas is a poor bet to out-target Kirk or TE Evan Engram. But both of those guys are undersized and sport below-average career TD rates. So Thomas could immediately play a big role in the red-zone and boast weekly TD upside for fantasy squads.