Jacksonville Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. nominated for NFL Pepsi Rookie of the Week award

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was again nominated for the NFL's Pepsi Zero Rookie of the Week award, the league announced Tuesday.

Thomas caught eight passes for 86 yards during the team's 10-6 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Thomas has posted seven games with 75-plus receiving yards, tied for the second most in the league with Houston Texans receiver Nico Collins and Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase

This marks the fifth week that Thomas has been nominated. He has not won but was nominated after performances in Weeks 1, 4, 5 and 7.

In addition to Thomas, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, San Francisco 49ers running back Isaac Guerendo, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight, Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan and New York Giants RB Tyrone Tracy were nominated.

HIGH PRAISE:Jacksonville Jaguars' Doug Pederson: Brian Thomas Jr. still learning, and that's exciting

Thomas was drafted with the 23rd-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after the Jaguars traded down from pick 17 with the Minnesota Vikings.

Thomas was the star during the second half against Tennessee. After not catching a single pass for nearly three quarters, Thomas was targetted heavily at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth to help Jacksonville score their lone touchdown of the game — an eight-yard rushing touchdown by running back Tank Bigsby.

After the game, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson noted that the team needed to get Thomas the football earlier, and more often.

"That was something that Press [Taylor] and I talked about on the sideline. Listen, you go into the game, you want to execute your game plan, right? You want to get things going, get everybody involved, do what you can. But then at some point, you gotta be [like], 'you know what? We gotta get BT the ball," Pederson explained to Jaguars sideline reporter Bucky Brooks after the game.

Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones put it more succinctly when asked about one of Thomas' impressive plays against the Titans. Thomas caught a pass on a scramble drill and took it 31 yards before Bigsby scored a few plays later.

"So, I'm gonna continue to grow in that area and at the end of the day, like I said our defense gave us a chance to be in that position and at the end of the day our best player made a good play," Jones said when asked about the play.

Brian Thomas Jr. stats: Rookie wideout set to break franchise rookie receiving record

Thomas has caught 54 passes for 851 yards and six touchdowns through 13 games this season. He needs just 14 yards to tie former Jaguars WR Justin Blackmon's rookie receiving record (865 yards).

Thomas is averaging 15.8 yards per reception. That ranks ninth in the league in yards per reception among players with at least 500 receiving yards this year.

Thomas has added five rushing attempts for 30 yards.

Fans can vote for this week's Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week by clicking here.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius.

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