Feb. 25, 2026, 12:56 p.m. PT

Les Snead and Sean McVay have never been afraid to take a big swing, especially at wide receiver. They traded for Sammy Watkins in 2017, landed Brandin Cooks in 2018 and signed veterans such as Allen Robinson and Davante Adams, seeing varying results from those four players.

Wide receiver isn’t a glaring need this offseason with Puka Nacua and Adams entrenched as the top two options, but they could use a No. 3 to pair with those two stars. Brian Thomas Jr.’s stock has never been lower after a shockingly unproductive second season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and his situation could be one worth watching.

According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, there’s no indication the Jaguars want to move Thomas right now, but “there are teams monitoring the situation in case the hypertalented LSU product has fallen far enough down the Jacksonville depth chart that the front office would consider a move.”

It’s not crazy to think the Rams might be one of those “teams” watching Thomas’ situation. Jaguars head coach Liam Coen is McVay’s former offensive coordinator, and general manager James Gladstone worked closely with Snead in Los Angeles. It’s plausible that Snead has made a call to Gladstone to inquire about the third-year receiver from LSU.

If the Rams haven’t talked to the Jags yet, they should.

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.

Thomas finished fourth in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2024 when he caught 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was voted a Pro Bowler and immediately established himself as one of the best young receivers in football.

Then the sophomore slump hit. Last season, he caught only 48 of his 91 targets (52.7%) for 707 yards and two touchdowns. His yards per game dropped from 75.4 to 50.5, while his catch rate sunk from 65.4% to 52.7%.

Drops were a big problem for Thomas in 2025. His eight drops were second-most among all wide receivers, according to PFF, and he only caught 36.7% of his contested targets. That’s partly because he seemed to shy away from contact, avoiding collisions when going over the middle of the field.

The Jaguars are suddenly rich at wide receiver with Jakobi Meyers, Travis Hunter and Parker Washington, making Thomas a potentially expendable piece. It still seems unlikely that Jacksonville will trade him only two years after spending a first-round pick on him, but Coen and Gladstone aren’t the ones who drafted him. That was the previous regime.

Thomas fits what the Rams should be looking for in a wide receiver, too. He’s a big, fast field-stretcher who can take the top off of the defense and open things up for Nacua and Adams underneath. His average depth of target of 14.7 yards was the eighth-highest among qualified receivers last season, showing that most of the passes thrown his way were beyond the sticks.

Tutu Atwell didn’t work out as a deep threat, but maybe Thomas could. It would probably take a first-round pick to pry him from the Jaguars but the Rams may not be able to find a more productive player at No. 29 overall in the draft. Thus, sending that to Jacksonville for three years of contractual control of Thomas would make sense.

None of this matters if the Jaguars are steadfast on keeping him, but it’s worth a call from the Rams.