The Jacksonville Jaguars have been missing Brian Thomas Jr. He’s been out for the last three games. Thankfully, the team has been able to overcome his absence and go 2-1 in that span, including a dominant 35-7 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Part of why they’ve been able to manage has been the arrival of Jakobi Meyers and the emergence of Parker Washington as a legitimate top option in this offense. In the three games BTJ’s been out, they’ve combined for 22 catches, 179 yards, and three receiving touchdowns.
The other reason they’ve been able to keep the ship afloat without Thomas Jr. is that he wasn’t bringing much to the table this year to begin with. Now, the Jaguars have seemingly found a rhythm while he’s been on the sideline, averaging over 30 points per game during his absence. The question now is, how does he fit in upon his return?
Dec 22, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) celebrates with wide receiver Parker Washington (11) after scoring a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders during the third quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Brian Thomas Jr.’s new role
Brian Thomas Jr. was one of the most promising pieces on the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ roster coming into the season. Through 12 weeks, he’s been the most disappointing player, not just in Jacksonville, but perhaps the entire NFL. After a stellar rookie showing, he’s failed to reach his potential in Liam Coen’s system, averaging just 3.8 catches for 52.5 yards per game with only two total touchdowns on the year.
Jakobi Meyers has brought the sure hands that BTJ was lacking to this offense, and Parker Washington has emerged as the threat in the middle of the field that Coen’s system needs. It’s only natural to wonder where Thomas Jr. will fit in once he returns, especially with Brenton Strange back as another downfield weapon now, too. Coen is only encouraged by the prospect of BTJ’s presence alongside this group, though:
TE Must-Start Stud…
Brenton Strange at TEN
Returned from injury in Week 12, caught all 5 targets for 93 yards…
Top 5 fantasy TE in first game back.
5+ targets in each of his most recent four complete games played.
TE1 in easy matchup.
— Joe Orrico (@JoeOrricoFF) November 26, 2025
“I don’t know if you guys watched practice yesterday a little bit — he brought some juice to practice yesterday in a big way, in terms of being able to get that connection going again. That’s something that we’re going to need down this stretch, and when you have somebody that, he’s feeling better, he is getting healthier, that’s so big for our offense to be able to attack people now at all three levels.”
“So, we’ll see what the rep count comes out to be, because you do still have to monitor and make sure that when you have a guy coming off of a high ankle sprain that plays a position that involves running and cutting and doing all those things, you want to make sure you’re — similar to Brenton [Strange], I think you could say, last week — where you’re just trying to make sure that, hey, we want to get him going. We need to get him going because it’ll help our team and our offense. Just don’t want to make sure you’re putting him in any position that it could end up hurting it.”
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