Steelers Now
With the Pittsburgh Steelers circling, another very interesting name has entered the NFL trade market, as the Jacksonville Jaguars are listening to calls on star wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., according to a report by Dianna Russini of The Athletic.
Russini said such a trade feels unlikely, but that the Jaguars are looking for defensive help.
Thomas is one of the most promising young receivers in the league. A first-round pick out of LSU in 2024, he finished his rookie season with 87 catches for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns, despite an injury that limited starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence to 10 games.
But so far this season, he has not lived up to the promise of his rookie year. Through seven games, he has 27 catches for 365 yards and a touchdown.
It’s unclear why the Jaguars would want to trade Thomas, though he was not drafted by new general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen. The team selected wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and Hunter has played about twice as much on offense and he has on defense so far.
Thomas had elite pre-draft testing coming out of LSU. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound wide receiver had a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, a 38.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-6 broad jump for a 9.83 Relative Athletic Score out of 10.
At LSU, Thomas broke out as a junior in 2023, when he led the country with 17 touchdown receptions and also had 1,177 yards on just 68 catches for an eye-popping 17.3 yards-per-catch average.
The Steelers have been looking for wide receiver help since trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys in May, and have specifically been looking for someone that can stretch the field the way Thomas can.
Pittsburgh also has some surplus defenders that could interest the Jaguars, especially along the edge, where they’ve struggled to find enough playing time for all of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, and at linebacker, where Cole Holcomb has returned from injury to find a crowded room with Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson entrenched and Malik Harrison nearing an injury return, as well.
The Jaguars are 4-3 and currently hold the seventh and final playoff spot in the AFC, so it’s unlikely they’ll want a return of pure draft capital, and the Steelers have been loathe to trade away picks they may need to move up for a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, so the teams could make sense as partners.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Rising Star WR Surprisingly Enters NFL Trade, Fit for Steelers?
