The Jacksonville Jaguars’ Brian Thomas Jr. was the most effective wide receiver during the 2024 season at running the post route, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics.
Lauren Gray recently highlighted the top three wide receivers from a variety of different route types. In the post route category, Thomas was at the top of that list.
“Brian Thomas Jr. is the only rookie receiver from last season to lead the way in PFF grade on any route,” wrote Gray. “Another excellent deep threat, Thomas secured four of six post targets for 206 yards (most). Five of his targets came on deep throws, and each catch gained more than 20 yards. Thomas ranked second in overall threat rate on post routes (85.7%), while 20% of his deep field targets came from posts.”
Thomas’ impressive combination of size, speed, and route running abilities makes him a very difficult player to defend. In fact, Jourdan Lewis recently called Thomas “one of the top guys” that he’s ever guarded.
Those abilities, especially when paired together, can lead to home run potential, as we saw last season from Thomas, particularly on those post routes. Out of 44 eligible receivers, Thomas’ 14.7 yards per catch was the ninth-highest mark in the NFL last season.
While Thomas certainly has the ability to stretch the field, within Liam Coen’s offense, we are going to see more of Thomas lining up in the slot this season, and also attacking different levels of the field, while doing so in a variety of ways.
As impressive as his rookie season was, as Grant Udinski mentioned earlier this offseason, there is more growth and potential out there for Thomas, and that comes in expanding what he’s asked to do within the offense, which puts a lot more on the plates of opposing defenses when it comes to defending him.
“He’s got those freakish talents, man,” Coen said of Thomas during OTAs. “He’s got some freakish traits. Just his attention to detail in the meeting room setting. Being able to answer questions. You see some of his personality come to life as well. But you see, when we get into competitive situations, there’s definitely a little bit of an uptick.
“The ability for a big dude like him to be able to operate in the slot, run some of the choice and option routes, but also be able to go vertical and catch the ball downfield, he’s been a real pleasure to work with.”
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars’ Brian Thomas most effective WR running post routes in 2024