Big Cat Country
What we learned from Liam Coen’s multiple NFL Combine press conferences.
With their coaching staff now finalized, the Jacksonville Jaguars front office is in Indianapolis for the opening days of the 2025 NFL Combine. With head coach Liam Coen first to the stage, before new general manager James Gladstone, fans received an early opportunity to learn how the Jaguars brain-trust plans to build the team in their image.
Here are the top takeaways from Liam Coen’s inaugural NFL Combine various media availabilities:
1) Get ready to see BTJ moved all over the offense
Early on within his presser, Coen was asked about rookie sensation, Brian Thomas Jr and what his versatility brings to the offense. Liam quickly drew a line in the sand for all fantasy football owners that the days of drafting Thomas Jr later in fantasy drafts is over. The passing game will run through BTJ.
“He’s so dynamic, being able to move him around where you saw him in LSU, maybe not do some of those things, right? Where he was mostly outside, running more linear routes, vertical posts, some overs, and then the stop. So the ability for him to snap down, get in the slot, be able to run some of the choice routes, looky routes. And then, oh, by the way, you can throw him a screen and he can go do something with it. Our pass game, we’ll run through him and super excited to get to work with him.”
A larger issue for the prior offensive staff, these comments should be a breath of fresh air for Jaguars’ faithful. Brian Thomas was often lined up stagnant, outside throughout much of the earlier portions of the 2024 season. Only later in the season, after injuries to Gabe Davis, Christian Kirk, and Evan Engram did the team begin to move BTJ around the field. Unsurprisingly, this usage resulted in an average of 101 total yards per game over the final seven games, while scoring five touchdowns.
2) Trevor Lawrence’s development and process will be key to team success
The Jaguars head coach was also asked about the development of the most important position on the field, the quarterback where he laid out the differences from his time with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Baker Mayfield, comparatively.
“The development of Baker will be different than Trevor. It just will be because of the different type of player. But you see a lot of the same intangibles in terms of the work ethic, the want to. He wants to be great. He wants to be coached hard. And the process, like how do we get him on a schedule, a process every single day that he can follow to get him to the point that he feels like he’s playing at a higher level?”
He later continued:
“How do we create a little bit of sameness to give him a schedule? Hey, Mondays, this is what we want. Look for your daily rhythm. Tuesdays...
