Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel Sr. or Brian Thomas Jr.

Tuesday, September 29, 1:25 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. caught his only target for eight yards in the team's 35-6 blowout win over the New England Patriots on Sunday in Week 3, and Sports Illustrated's John Shipley writes that the Jaguars and Thomas "are going in different directions." Sunday was only the second game in Thomas' career where he recorded only one catch, and the first since Week 1 of last season. After averaging around 6.85 targets per game in the first seven games of 2025, which was before the Jakobi Meyers trade and the ascension of Parker Washington, Thomas averaged 5.14 targets over his final seven games of last year. Thomas is averaging just 4.33 targets per game through three weeks in 2026, a number that has been inflated by his nine-target game in the Week 2 loss to the Denver Broncos. He only played 23 snaps and ran 13 routes against New England in Week 3. Meanwhile, sixth-round rookie Josh Cameron played the same number of snaps and saw more targets despite running five fewer routes. Head coach Liam Coen explained that Thomas saw the field less due to the Jags going with more 12-personnel looks. It all amounts to Thomas' fantasy football value hitting rock bottom heading into the team's Week 4 contest on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals.