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Tyquan Thornton made waves at the 2022 Shrine Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine. He impressed so much that the New England Patriots selected him in the second round of that year's draft, making him one of their highest-drafted wide receivers in recent history.
Thornton had an underwhelming career at Baylor as he never went over 1,000 yards in a season. But he showed his high-end athleticism at the combine, clocking in at 4.28 in the 40-yard dash and jumping 10’ 10’’ in the broad jump.
Now in his second year in the NFL, Thornton could have a greater opportunity. After Jakobi Meyers left out the door, Thornton is projected to be the WR3, but he has been dealing with injuries this offseason. Will he be healthy in time for training camp?
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Will Tyquan Thornton Be Ready By Training Camp?
Thornton was present for two days of organized team activities (OTAs) in June, and he impressed reporters. Patriots staff writer Evan Lazar said, "Tyquan Thornton looked phenomenal. Explosiveness on full display off the line of scrimmage and through route breaks."
Thornton himself said he made an effort to bulk up in the offseason. He's always been fast but he's skinny and lanky. His official weight last season was only 182 pounds. He injured his collarbone in the preseason and had to miss the first four games of the 2022 season so he hopes that being stronger will help him get through the season.
Unfortunately, Thornton missed a couple of days of OTAs later because of a soft-tissue injury. However, there's even more bad news as the injury is lingering. Mike Reiss of ESPN reports that Thornton could be put on the PUP list to begin the year.
Patriots training camp begins on July 25 and the first practice is on July 26. But Thornton and some of the other injured players will be there earlier to work on rehab.
According to Reiss,
Starting right guard Mike Onwenu (offseason ankle surgery) and second-year receiver Tyquan Thornton (managing a soft-tissue injury from the spring) are among those arriving early, which will be the first opportunity to see if they will open training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
While Thornton will not be at 100% for training camp, there are still about six weeks before Week 1, so he will most likely be ready by then.
Tyquan Thornton 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook
Will Thornton be a valuable asset in fantasy football? Since the Patriots missed out on signing DeAndre Hopkins, Thornton is still going to be in the mix of the top 3-4 Patriots wide receivers. But the Pats only ranked No. 20 in passing yards per game last season. Even on most of the teams with above-average passing games, the No. 3 WR is rarely productive enough to be a fantasy football starter.
During his rookie season, Thornton played 66% of the Pats' offensive snaps when healthy, but he only caught 22 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Because of his elite speed, he was also involved as a rusher three times and scored a touchdown on a jet sweep.
Thornton did not get a lot of playing time out of the gate. But by Weeks 14 through 17, he was on the field for 88% or more of the snaps, and even then he didn't produce. In those four games, he was targeted 19 times and caught nine passes for 117 yards and a single score.
He underwhelmed as a pass catcher, dropping three passes and only hauling in 51% of the balls thrown his way. His drops were so bad that they warranted a PFF grade of 49.5 in that category (100 is best).
His speed, which was supposed to be his strength, didn't show up in his numbers, either. He only averaged 3.0 yards after catch per reception, which tied for No. 72 in the league.
Some fantasy managers think Tyquan Thornton could be a sleeper breakout candidate this year, but there's a lot going against him. His team isn't expected to have an efficient passing offense and highly-drafted Patriots receivers rarely pan out. However, if you do like him, you can get him around round 21 as the WR85.
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