JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Trevor Lawrence threw the ball high, the only place he could put it so receiver Brian Thomas Jr. would have a chance to snag it over cornerback Tyson Campbell in a one-on-one drill.
The 6-foot-2 Thomas got a hand on it but couldn't complete what would have been a high-difficulty catch in the back corner of the end zone. Thomas, unhappy at the incompletion, kicked the football as it lay on the ground.
That wasn't the only time in camp that Thomas has reacted after failing to connect with Lawrence. Twice he took off his helmet and slammed it to the ground after a drop or incompletion.
While that looks like anger or frustration, Thomas says it's not.
"I wouldn't say it was [frustration]," Thomas said. "It was me just fighting through adversity. Everybody's fighting through adversity. So just coming out here, just pushing, just trying to be the best version of myself.
"I had a couple drops and stuff like that. It's just me just fighting through adversity, pushing through."
Receivers coach Edgar Bennett did have a chat with Thomas after one of those helmet tosses and said that while he would like to see Thomas not react like that, he knows he's doing it because he believes he should make every play.
"Each and every guy handles it different ways," Bennett said. "But I think Brian, he knows the best way to handle situations like that. It comes down to being ultra-competitive, which we all understand."
Though Thomas hasn't had a great training camp -- he called it "decent" -- nobody is worried that he's going to struggle to follow a fantastic rookie season. The irritation at the drops and inability to get into a groove with Lawrence during practice are because Thomas isn't meeting his own expectations.
And that's a good thing, according to offensive coordinator Grant Udinski.
"I think that he holds himself to a high standard, which we appreciate, and when he doesn't play to the standard that he holds himself to, sometimes that comes out in frustration," Udinski said. "This is what practice is about. You're trying to improve on things. You're trying to put yourself in challenging situations. If you're going out there and just succeeding at everything every single day, you're probably not pushing yourself hard enough.
"... Most guys are going to be in a situation at some point throughout the course of a practice, throughout the course of a training camp where they probably push themselves maybe beyond their limits, or maybe they just don't perform to their standard. So, I think that frustration for all of us, coaches, players included, it becomes a part of the process of growth, whatever we're doing."
Thomas had a slow start to his training camp last season, too. It wasn't until two days of joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he started to shine. Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles and cornerback Zyon McCollum raved about Thomas after the workouts.
While Thomas hasn't been as good as he wanted this camp, he did shine in the team's first scrimmage (two TD catches) and has three catches in three drives in the Jaguars' first two preseason games.
And for the second year in a row, Thomas leveled up in the Jaguars' joint practice with the Miami Dolphins on Thursday. Coach Liam Coen said he raised his level of play above what it had been most of camp.
"You see so many, whether it's quarterbacks or any position look great in practice or in ROA [routes on air] and it's great and then when the bullets start flying, they can't play the game," Coen said. "So, you would much prefer [the player to raise their level in games]. My only challenge to him is, 'Well, think about what if you can become a dominant player in practice. What will that actually do to your game?
"'For you to be able to dominate every single day you walk on the grass, regardless of who it's against, you will get better.' And he needs to continue to get better if he wants to go where he wants to go."
Thomas' rookie season set a high bar. He finished third in the NFL with 1,281 receiving yards, which was a franchise rookie record. So were his 82 receptions and 10 touchdown catches (tied with Allen Hurns). He was essentially the Jaguars' entire passing offense the second half of the season after receiver Christian Kirk (broken collarbone) and tight end Evan Engram (shoulder) went down with season-ending injuries. Thomas had the majority of his catches (54) and receiving yards (702) while catching passes from backup Mac Jones.
Which makes expectations for 2025 high, especially with the addition of rookie Travis Hunter and veteran Dyami Brown to keep defenses from focusing solely on stopping Thomas. Still, defenses will be paying a lot of attention to the former LSU standout, which is something for which Bennett said Thomas is ready.
"The film study helps and I think his practice habits, all of that helps," Bennett said. "And then there's this mindset when you're talking about certain players, extremely special players, they all have this similar trait in wanting to go out and dominate each and every time they step out on the field no matter who they're playing."
This is Thomas' expectation heading into his second season: Making defensive backs toss helmets and kick footballs.
"Yeah, I'm definitely ready for [increased expectations]," he said. "Definitely welcome it. I just take it on it on as motivation and just go out there and push myself to be the best that I can be and just knowing what's expected from me."