A day after signing second-round pick Maason Smith, the Jaguars have secured their top pick. The team announced that Brian Thomas Jr. agreed to terms on his rookie deal on Friday.
Selected 23rd overall, Thomas will have a fully guaranteed four-year contract. The Jaguars have the option to extend the wide receiver’s contract through 2028 via the fifth-year option. As the first of the Jags’ three LSU draftees this year, Thomas will be a key part of the team’s offseason receiver overhaul.
The Jaguars have replaced Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones with Thomas and free agent acquisition Gabe Davis. Christian Kirk remains under the four-year, $72 million deal he signed in 2022, but the supporting cast has changed. The Jags also added former Ravens All-Pro return man/part-time wideout Devin Duvernay. Ridley signed with the Titans in free agency, despite a Jags offer, and Jacksonville released Jones shortly after the draft; he has since joined Arizona.
Targeting receivers and cornerbacks in the draft, the Jags selected the 6-foot-3, 209-pound Thomas after trading the No. 17 overall pick to the Vikings, moving down six spots and gaining additional draft assets. The Vikings sent the Jags No. 167, along with third- and fourth-round picks in the 2025 draft, to move up for Dallas Turner. Trent Baalke’s team will benefit from that deal next year while hoping Thomas can provide immediate impact alongside their veteran WR lineup.
Thomas and fellow first-round wideout Malik Nabers helped Jayden Daniels achieve Heisman honors last season. Thomas, a bigger target than the No. 6 overall pick, used last season to establish a first-round profile, with 1,177 yards and a Division I-FBS-leading 17 touchdown receptions. He averaged 17.1 yards per catch in 2023.
Thomas joins Davis as a deep threat for Trevor Lawrence, forming a more cost-effective WR trio for the Jags, as Ridley had a fifth-year option last season and Jones had an $8 million-per-year deal. Davis signed a three-year, $39 million deal with three void years to manage cap hits, but Thomas will be on a rookie deal for four years. Considering that only two teams in the fifth-year option era have extended a first-round wideout with more than two years of rookie-contract control, it’s likely the Jags will retain Thomas through 2027.
