WR Brian Thomas Jr. Prospect Deep Dive: Why He’s a Top Three Receiver In The Class

In a generational Receiver class, there’s been a ton of talk about who ranks where and who might be a bust at Receiver. Brian Thomas Jr. is one of the most polarizing prospects this year as people either love or hate him. He was only a two-star recruit and just broke onto the scene in 2023. The fact he was only a two-star recruit is astonishing because he has some of the best blend of size and athleticism I’ve ever evaluated.

Being the teammate of Malik Nabers, Thomas Jr. has gotten overshadowed a bit. His burst and speed stuck out when watching Nabers, without knowing who Thomas Jr. was. After fully evaluating him, I came across many aspects of his game that left me hopeful he could become one of the premiere deep threats in the league. In this article, you’ll see exactly what those aspects are and why he should be a top-ten pick.

Five all-22 games and his highlights were evaluated, and clips from his film are broken down here. All relevant traits were graded based on his film. His scouting report also factored in stats and analytics, such as PFF grades. Use promo code TREYSCHNEIDER on Underdog Fantasy to match your deposit up to $100. Please gamble responsibly and leave your feedback on Twitter @FBIntellect.

Brian Thomas Jr.’s Receiving Stats

Film Analysis

Brian Thomas runs a nice wheel route against press-man from the slot in the clip above. With an elite burst, he beats the press cleanly and makes a terrific contested catch, showing good concentration.

Thomas shows good awareness to recognize it was a free play and hauls in a massive TD here. The defense is in off-man coverage which is typically difficult to win vertically against, but his speed is so incredible it doesn’t matter. He also had exceptional ball tracking on this play.

This play is an example of how lethal his post routes are. The defense is in cover three and he makes a clean break on the post while the Safety got distracted by the crosser. It was lucky for the Safety not to see him coming, but he also had a subtle break on the post and showed off his phenomenal top-end speed.

Grades

OVR Grade: 1-100

Traits/ Skills

(Grades are subject to change until draft day.)

Brian Thomas Jr.’s Pros And Cons

Brian Thomas Bio

• Physical traits are more valuable than ever and Brian Thomas oozes them. While unrefined in some areas, he has everything you could possibly ask for out of a deep threat.

Pros

• The perfect size and speed combination to be a dominant deep threat – 4.33 speed showed up on film.
• Lengthy and explosive which could allow him to develop an elite release package.
• Improved his footwork as a route runner and against press coverage in 2023.
• Long arms and hand size paired with height and frame make him a top-notch contested catch target.
• Has all the little things you look for in a deep threat such as ball-tracking ability, and concentration/ physicality at the catch point.
• Runs a crisp post route and can stack essentially any given Corner.
• Shiftiness and vision after the catch are a plus considering his size.
• Good awareness of where to go when the play broke down and had excellent chemistry with Daniels.
• One of the most productive deep threats in all of college – 670 yards on deep passing attempts.

Cons

• Limited route tree at LSU and struggled to create separation on simple in-breaking and out-breaking routes. His feet will sometimes lag when breaking on the route.
• While he looked beyond impressive against press coverage, he still lacks experience against it.
• Catching ability over the middle was lacking for such a big guy.

Combine

40 yd: 4.33

Ten yd: 1.5

Shuttle:

Three Cone:

Broad Jump: 10’6″

Vertical: 38.5″

Bench: 11

Arm length: 32 3/4″

Hand Size: 9 3/4″

Pro Day –

40 yd:

Ten yd:

Shuttle:

Three Cone:

Broad Jump:

Vertical:

Bench:

Arm length:

Hand Size:

All-22 Exposures

• Alabama, 2023
• Florida, 2023
• Florida State, 2023
• Missouri, 2023
• Ole Miss, 2023

Final Conclusion on Brian Thomas Jr.

It’s not every year we see a Receiver with ideal size to be so explosive and have such good long speed. In addition, I wasn’t expecting to come away liking all of the little things in his game. It’s not like he’s this bust-proof Receiver who’ll be a day-one stud. However, you’re getting a capable day-one starter with the upside to be a top-ten Receiver if you draft him. I could see a world where he’s nothing but a solid deep threat if he gets paired with some nobody at QB. But at the same time, I could see a future where people are questioning why their GM let him fall past them.

Fans and analysts will nitpick his route running and hands consistency, but ultimately he has a trait he can rely on from day one and has potential not worth passing up. Receiver is the one position I’m best at evaluating, and I just have a feeling Thomas Jr. will emerge as one of the best players from this class.

Whether he’s better than Rome Odunze comes down to your preference in Receivers. Odunze is safer and is your prototypical possession Receiver whereas Thomas Jr. is a pure deep threat and isn’t as pro-ready. I’d personally rather take the risk, but I could easily see how people are higher on Odunze. At the day’s end, I prefer physical traits as you should feel confident in your coaches to develop these prospects. I find him one of the most fun prospects this year, and it’ll be exciting to see if the league views him as high as I do.