When the Patriots selected Tyquan Thornton in the second round, Patriots nation either gasped – scratched part of their anatomy or threw something heavy out of a window. Guess which reaction I had. I thought to myself taking Thornton with George Pickens – Alec Peirce and Skyy Moore, still on the board and going immediately after the Patriots selection. names we had all heard of, read about and watched hours of film on was simply well Brain Dead.
WOW. JUST WOW.@BUFootball WR Tyquan Thornton might've just broken the all-time 40 record with a 4.21u. 📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/WvR8FfKv6M — NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2022
Then we all , yes you did as well, took a deeper look into the Hoodies thinking . We went and watched what little film we could find of him and got into his statistics ( 114 receptions 62 SR – 2242 yds 948 SR – 19 TD 10 SR 15.7 AVG ) and we all gave pause. Looked back at his combine numbers he ran the forty in 4.28 – but he also tested with a 36.5-inch vertical and a 130-inch broad jump — these are off the chart explosiveness numbers. At close to 6’3 this is everything the Patriots needed to see add in his 66 inch wingspan that’s a catch radius bill was drooling over.
The #Patriots are encouraging Tyquan Thornton to use his arms more while he’s running his routes. pic.twitter.com/asVM61uUrN — Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) May 31, 2022
This week was the first time the media had a chance to tackle Thornton, they didn’t stand a chance. He blew them away with wit and personality. He ran past them for YAQ ( yards after questions ) on his weight and of all things wrist size. Sorry I’m chuckling here. Wrist size yep.
Tyquan Thornton: “I’m just working on getting better every day. Route running, trying to move my arms in and out of my breaks and contested catching.” #Patriots pic.twitter.com/2mMAUMsPkd — Ryan Spagnoli (@Ryan_Spags) May 31, 2022
The Exception to the Rule.. The rules are Changing
It is true that wideouts of his build becoming breakout players are few and far between but they are there. Devonta Smith – Amari Cooper – Roby Anderson all fit the mold. Also take into consideration the fact that the league is changing. Linebackers who were once 6’3 250 lbs. are down to 6’ 225 – DB are shrinking as well. The league is becoming smaller and faster on the defensive side of the ball. Everyone knows Speed Kills. The days of Jerod Mayo, Donta Hightower and Rodney Harrison are over. I think this man will do just fine.
How did anyone watch Tyquan Thornton’s film and think “Oh yeah that’s just like N’Keal Harry!” “Oh yeah Bethel Johnson 2.0!”pic.twitter.com/QhEOq4hIcN — Anywhere but New England (@JudonSackLunch) May 5, 2022
As always follow / Give me Grief on Twitter @Tmurph207