JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Liam Coen had to get Brian Thomas Jr. on the phone. There was no time left to mess around.
Coen, the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach, had seen the mounting references to his wide receiver’s so-called trade availability, so he called Thomas early this offseason for a heart-to-heart. Coen vowed the Jags weren’t shopping Thomas, and the leaks weren’t coming from Jacksonville.
Despite Thomas’ struggles in 2025, they were firmly committed to him and his development.
“It was just important to let him know we’re all in this thing together, and this is not coming from us,” Coen told The Athletic recently.
Coen told Thomas, “At the end of the day, all we’re trying to do is help you become the best player that you can be and that we want to be here for you on and off the field. That’s the kind of relationship we want to continue to build and grow.”
Thomas, a first-round pick in 2024, finished fourth in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting that season, while flourishing with 87 receptions, 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. He looked like a star in the making for the backsliding Jaguars, who cleaned house after missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season and hired Coen, one of the league’s brightest play callers who cut his teeth under Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.
Coen injected offensive success across the board as a rookie coach, but Thomas was the exception.
The LSU product caught just 48 passes for 707 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games last season; he tied for second in the NFL with 10 drops. The numbers were even more glaring compared to Parker Washington’s surprising emergence and Jakobi Meyers’ quick integration after the trade deadline.
Naturally, with Thomas’ pedestrian stat line and a Jaguars regime in place that didn’t draft him, it was the perfect recipe for teams to call about his availability. The Jags rebuffed, even turning down a pair of significant offers ahead of last year’s trade deadline.
They truly believe Thomas will be an instrumental part of their future success.
“That put me in a good spot,” Thomas told The Athletic, referring to the call he got from Coen. “You feel like they have enough respect for you to call and tell you stuff like that. That makes you want to be at your best for them or work even harder for them. That was super cool for them to do that.
“We’ve gotten a lot closer for sure. I feel we mesh well. It’s proven he has a great offense. You just have to come in here and know what you’re doing. That’s the main thing. Know what you’ve got to do, and you’ll see the results.”
According to those around the Jaguars, Thomas arrived this offseason like a new man with refined practice habits and a fresher outlook. He underwent an unspecified surgery to get through an injury that was taking its toll during the season, and Thomas was going through a lot personally, too. He has spoken openly about the anguish of losing close friend and former LSU teammate Kyren Lacy.
And with the new offensive system in place, it’s easy to see how quickly someone can fall behind when other factors were also working against him.
“The thing that was really hard on me was the drops … just knowing I can catch the ball and knowing I can go out there and perform. That was probably the hardest thing,” Thomas said of his struggles in 2025. “There was a lot that played a factor into it, but I’m not too worried about that. I just wanted to come out this year with a new mindset, just to be focused and ready to go.
“I’ve been more intentional about all the little things I need to get corrected. Year 2 coming into the offense, I’ve got an idea of what things are going to look like, where things are going to be, how we learn certain things, how we want stuff. It’s all been just a positive thing, a great thing.”
Even as Thomas’ production dipped, the Jaguars still saw the respect he commanded from opponents. Superstar cornerbacks Patrick Surtain of the Denver Broncos and Sauce Gardner of the Indianapolis Colts shadowed him in Weeks 16-17. That played no small part in Washington delivering the highest yardage totals of his career as a result, amassing 14 catches for 260 yards and a touchdown in those games.
Brian Thomas Jr. and Trevor Lawrence are hoping to rediscover the connection that made them so potent in 2024. (Mike Carlson/ Getty Images)
This offseason, Thomas and quarterback Trevor Lawrence have already displayed much improved chemistry. They’re connecting on deep balls in practice at a consistent level they never reached last season, and there’s plenty of reason to believe Thomas can be a dynamic weapon over the top as a way to free up Meyers and Washington as well as two-way player Travis Hunter.
The Jaguars are genuinely encouraged about Thomas’ trajectory, and it’s not just general preseason optimism. They’ve maintained their vision for Thomas.
“Let’s just go get better, man,” Coen said he told Thomas. “You are here. We want to help you get to be the best version of yourself. You’re going to help us win a lot of football games in that process. This is what it takes. It’s not always easy. There’s not always going to be this clear line to success.”
Added Coen: “He had a great rookie year, and everybody is killing him for a year that maybe wasn’t up to his or our standard. But man, we still won 13 games, and (Thomas had) 700 yards. This is about winning games. As much as individual success matters — we want every player to get everything they can in terms of achievements, goals, individual statistics and awards.
“But at the end of the day, this is a team game, and we’re trying to build this organization to be a competitive team year in and year out, and he’s a big part of that.”