Fantasy Football Video: Are Brian Thomas Jr.'s days of relevance numbered in Jacksonville?
Brian Thomas Jr.’s rookie season in 2024 was raucous. He played 17 games, caught 87-of-133 targets, and scored 10 times while accumulating 1,282 yards. As such, most fantasy football managers were excited to draft him in his sophomore season; BTJ was a consensus second-round pick in 2025, according to ADP.
Man, did that not turn out the way ANYONE expected.
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Thomas regressed monumentally last season, catching just 48 balls for 707 yards and two touchdowns (he did randomly rush for a touchdown, to be fair). And the regression went beyond the stat line; if you watched any BTJ in 2025, you saw a player who looked unfocused and uninspired.
No one has really figured out what happened last season. Injury? A really bad sophomore slump? Mental miscues? Confidence issues?
We don’t know — and that makes Thomas a tough player to think about when marinating over fantasy football in 2026. In fact, it makes him a tough player to evaluate even in the Jaguars’ WR room, which is loaded with playable guys.
Yahoo Sports’ Matt Harmon and Nate Tice go over the situation in Jacksonville in the video above.
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With NFL teams moving to 12- and 13-personnel (two and three TE sets) more and more — and if the Jaguars’ 2026 draft picks give any indication, it looks like the team is following the trend — less wide receivers are going to see the field. So the question is, who will see a cut in his playing time for the Jaguars? Who will be the de facto No. 1?
Both Harmon and Tice agree that, while it should be Thomas who gets the call as the No. 1 target, it’ll likely be Jakobi Meyers (who was traded to Jacksonville last season and showed well) with some Parker Washington sprinkled in. In fact, even Travis Hunter could get the call at WR1 in heavier packages.
Basically, things aren’t looking good for BTJ’s outlook. But Harmon hasn’t completely closed the door on Thomas returning to his rookie year form, saying, “That guy is still in there,” — and maybe a team like the Eagles believes that, too.
