2024 NFL Draft: LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr. Meets With Jaguars At Combine

The LSU star could be an option for the Jaguars at No. 17 overall.

If the Jacksonville Jaguars enter the 2024 NFL Draft with a hole at wide receiver, there is a good chance LSU's Brian Thomas Jr. could be the top option to fill it at No. 17.

As such, Thomas Jr. is one of several players the Jaguars have lined up formal interviews with at this week's combine, showing the Jaguars are doing their homework on the draft's top deep threat.

LSU WR Brian Thomas on his game, deciphering defenses, the “undefeated slot fade”

Told me he compares his game to Trevor Lawrence’s old friend Tee Higgins 😉

And yes: he had a formal meeting with the #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/D2WHYJRqYU

— Mia O'Brien (@MiaOBrienTV) March 1, 2024

Whether the Jaguars could take a wide receiver at No. 17 likely depends on the outcome of the Ridley situation. Ridley could either leave in free agency in less than two weeks, or the Jaguars could re-sign or tag him before he is able to. 

The most likely outcome is Ridley is eligible to hit the open market on March 13, but the Jaguars still pursue a new deal. Whether that deal actually comes together will determine how big the Jaguars' need at receiver is.

A Louisiana native, Thomas Jr. was ranked a four-star recruit in the 2021 class by 247Sports. He was the No. 89 recruit nationally, the No. 13 overall receiver, and the No. 4 recruit in the state. Before committing to LSU, Thomas Jr. received offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Louisiana, Miami, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia, and Washington State.

Thomas Jr. caught 68 passes for 1,177 yards (17.3 average) and 17 touchdowns for LSU in 2023, ending the year by being named Third-Team All-America and Second-Team All-SEC.

In 2022, Thomas Jr. caught 31 passes for 361 yards and five touchdowns. In 2021, he caught 28 passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns.