JACKSONVILLE – He's more than a good story, though he's a very good story.

Bryan Thomas Jr. was the lone undrafted free agent on the Jaguars' first 2026 53-player roster when the team announced it Sunday. That made him one of the best stories of the team's preseason. What made him more than a good story was how he embodies his team.

That became increasingly evident in recent weeks and months.

"I always play with a sense of urgency," he said.

Thomas, a defensive end from the University of South Carolina, spoke to the media shortly after the Jaguars’ 19-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Preseason Week 3 game at EverBank Stadium Friday.

He registered 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits in the game – a big effort in a big moment that came after a training camp and preseason in which he consistently impressed Jaguars coaches and personnel officials on and off the field.

"(Bryan's) playstyle is the right way," Head Coach Liam Coen said Friday. "It fits a lot of the things that we preach and that we're about as a team."

That approach helped draw the Jaguars to Thomas and helped him go from undrafted rookie to member of the 53-player roster for the defending AFC South champions.

And if effort and professionalism made him fit the Jaguars' "DNA," Thomas said those traits come naturally. His father, defensive end/linebacker Bryan Thomas Sr., played 157 games in 11 NFL seasons – all with the New York Jets, who drafted him in Round 1 of the 2002 NFL Draft.

"I always play with effort," he said. "I learned that from my pops. He played in the league for a lot of years. I learned that from him, running to the ball, having a lot of effort and creating plays."

Thomas made the Jaguars' roster following a productive, consistent preseason in which he played effectively in all three appearances. He registered 3.5 sacks (second-most in NFL) and six quarterback pressures (tied for most in NFL) and showed a natural ability to pressure the passer.

"When you have a gift of rushing the passer, man, it's something that you can't ignore," Coen said Friday. "I thought the defense as a whole, obviously, with the shutout was huge, being led by Bryan, and he's making it really difficult, which is a good thing.

"It's what we're hunting up. But he has had that skill set, that's something we really appreciated about his game, and he has just continued to do it on this stage."

Thomas had to grind his way to a spot on the Jaguars' roster, and it started in May when the Jaguars' rookies first took the practice field during the offseason program. He said he has grown significantly in recent weeks and months.

"I would say definitely in my wisdom, like what I learned from the older guys," Thomas said when asked where he has grown the most since signing with the Jaguars.

​"Just little tweaks, weaknesses and stuff I can learn that they saw and told me about, just put in the extra hours when practice is over with. Just tuning those things up and just being a better version of myself."

Thomas is the latest undrafted free agent to earn a role with the Jaguars, who emphasize collegiate free agency under Coen, General Manager James Gladstone and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli. Members of the 53-player roster who were undrafted free agents in 2025 include linebacker Branson Combs and defensive ends Danny Striggow and B.J. Green II.

Green and Thomas are similar in style, with each having explosive burst around the edge. With Thomas' path to the NFL similar to that of Green, Thomas called it "kind of like déjà vu."

"Almost the same stature or whatever, same situation, undrafted free agent," Thomas said. "I definitely picked his brain a lot and asked him what he did and didn't do and just put that into my own routine, lifestyle."