The mother of the Jaguars’ newest pick, Brian Thomas Jr., was asked “how far” her family had gone to get to the NFL Draft in Detroit, and she gave an extremely literal answer that has since become viral.
Thomas Jr., a wide receiver from LSU, was selected 23rd overall by Jacksonville before his mother, Sondra, spoke to ABC on camera.
“Sondra, how far has this family come?” journalist Laura Rutledge asked her.
“We come from Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Sondra deadpanned.
Rutledge quickly moved on to his next question after the slightly awkward moment.
Sondra Thomas gave an extremely deadpan response while on national television during the draft.
His son, Brian Thomas Jr., was selected 23rd overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jacksonville traded up six spots and then selected Thomas Jr. with the 23rd overall pick, continuing to build around franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Adding the 6-foot-3, 209-pound speedster should help offset the loss of Calvin Ridley to division rival Tennessee in free agency and give the Jaguars a chance to have a legitimate No. 1 receiver for the first time since Jimmy Smith He retired after the 2005 season.
Thomas led the Bowl Subdivision with 17 receiving touchdowns last season. He finished with 68 receptions for 1,177 yards, averaging a whopping 17.3 yards per catch and 34.9 yards on his 17 touchdowns.
Thomas Jr. wore a gray suit, silver chain, bow tie and sunglasses on his big draft night in Detroit.
“Just my ability to use my speed, be able to get open and create space for defenders,” Thomas said after being selected. “I would say that’s an important role I played.”
Thomas joins a position group that includes Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis and Zay Jones. No one would be surprised to see the newcomer become Lawrence’s go-to person at some point, perhaps even in 2024.
“It’s a stacked room,” Thomas said. “I just want to go in there and work and learn from all those guys and be the best I can be and work hard and do the things I can do best, push myself and see where the work takes me.”