Jaguars' CB Jourdan Lewis on Brian Thomas: One of the 'top guys' he's gone against

Following Tuesday's minicamp practice, Jacksonville Jaguars' cornerback Jourdan Lewis was asked about competing against Brian Thomas Jr., and he offered some high praise for the second-year wide receiver.

"He's smooth," Lewis said. "He's very smooth, man. For his size, he gets in and out of his breaks really quickly. I think he's one of the top guys that I've ever guarded, honestly, and I feel like he can get better. He's a very young guy, I feel like sky's the limit for him."

Lewis is a very experienced player who is entering his ninth NFL season and has appeared in 115 games during that span. So when he says that Thomas is one of the top receivers that he's guarded, that carries some weight.

Thomas is coming off a very impressive rookie season, which included totaling 1,282 receiving yards--the third-most in the NFL. This season in Liam Coen's offense, we are going to see a lot more of Thomas lined up in the slot.

Expanding Thomas' role is how he can continue to grow heading into his second season. Along with playing both inside and out more regularly, the added speed around Thomas in Dyami Brown and Travis Hunter allows for him to attack different levels of the field more often as well, and his combination of speed, size, and route running ability allows him to do that in a variety of ways.

This added element within the Jaguars' offense will create mismatches for Thomas to exploit, and it can do the same for his teammates with the attention that he draws. Not to mention that there is a level of unpredictability that the offense as a whole gains with defenses not able to get a beat on what's coming based on who is on the field or where players are lined up.

"He's got those freakish talents, man," Coen said of Thomas during OTAs. "He's got some freakish traits. Just his attention to detail in the meeting room setting. Being able to answer questions. You see some of his personality come to life as well. But you see, when we get into competitive situations, there's definitely a little bit of an uptick.

"The ability for a big dude like him to be able to operate in the slot, run some of the choice and option routes, but also be able to go vertical and catch the ball downfield, he's been a real pleasure to work with."

This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars minicamp: CB Jourdan Lewis on competing against Brian Thomas