DRAFT Patriots select WR Tyquan Thornton at 50.

[Brotherblues]

And when they did throw, it was a QB who wasn't always sure he could hit the side of that barn.

That was one of the main takeaways for me watching the Lazar breakdown on this kid. On the bright side, having a qb that bad helped him master catching the ball with his hands, far, far away from his body.

 

[nextsuperstar]

This is underrated. Wilson and Olave weren't even the best WR on Ohio St last season Smith-Njigba was Olave & Wilson sat out the Rose Bowl and Smith-Njigba went and had 15 catches for 350 yards. Williams had Metchie. Thornton had R.J Sneed...... And like you said they were in high volume passing offenses, Thornton was on a team that passed it 39% of the time.

Interesting tidbit: Thornton had 5+ rec in 8 out of 14 games and only had 1 game with less than 3 rec and that game he caught 1 ball and it was a TD.

Olave was the third WR for a college team, as a senior. I mean, doesn’t that give you some pause?

 

[EMpats]

Olave was the third WR for a college team, as a senior. I mean, doesn’t that give you some pause?

Not if the other two are legit top 10 pick talents.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I keep hearing that Thorton is to thin and that the pick was a reach, he is a 4th round talent. He is the same effin size as Jameson Williams who everyone raves about. Honestly when I watch tape of both I don't see a great difference. What am I missing?

Yeah, I like Thornton a lot. I trust the new regime at Patriots draft HQ. The Patriots first round Strange pick smells like an old-time BB reach, but I think they got more sensible after that.

I don't really buy the whole skinny and frail frame argument against Thornton. Remember that Randy Moss was pretty skinny...OK, I am not saying he is another Moss, but I am not too worried about his physique (as long as he is good at avoiding contact after the catch)

 

[Ivan]

Going into the off-season the Patriots had to find a WR who could widen the field and help in the red zone, they got that in the Parker Trade. The other serious need was a WR who could force defenses to have to play the depth of the field, and that’s what Thornton has to do. The fact that he’s long definitely helps in this regard. I loved Skyy Moore, and he’s a dangerous wideout, but I understand why they went the way they did.

 

[Ivan]

Yeah, I like Thornton a lot. I trust the new regime at Patriots draft HQ. The Patriots first round Strange pick smells like an old-time BB reach, but I think they got more sensible after that.

I don't really buy the whole skinny and frail frame argument against Thornton. Remember that Randy Moss was pretty skinny...OK, I am not saying he is another Moss, but I am not too worried about his physique (as long as he is good at avoiding contact after the catch)

I initially went WTF at the Strange pick, but over time I have come to believe that he’s a really good athlete, a really smart player, and that he’s got the work ethic to turn into a great interior lineman for them. Time will tell, but I think he’s close to a sure thing,

 

[Ivan]

Jameson Williams was a guy that I really wanted in the 1st rd., but as always happens the players you really want that are in play early in the process move up to the point where you can’t get them. Thornton has a similar build and he’s even faster than Williams, which is hard to do, whether he can give the Patriots what they need remains to be seen, but that’s true of all rookies. However unlike other positions all ge has to do is give them his best strength, the deep ball. You only have to hit on a few a game to open everything up underneath it. He’s a complementary player, but that’s true of their entire receiving corps. And even though I went into the off-season wanting Allen Robinson and Jameson a Williams I’ll take Parker and Thornton, because it at least gives Jones tool to work with. The Patriots don’t have the most talented offense even within their division, but they now have the players to run a full offense.

 

[Badbisco]

Not if the other two are legit top 10 pick talents.

Guessing 3 legit top 10 draft pick WRs on one college team roster is relatively rare.

Have to wonder how much having the #1 ranked 2023 QB, as well as the #1 ranked 2023 WR, impacted both Wilson and Olave’s stats and resulting draft position.

 

[Badbisco]

Jameson Williams was a guy that I really wanted in the 1st rd., but as always happens the players you really want that are in play early in the process move up to the point where you can’t get them. Thornton has a similar build and he’s even faster than Williams, which is hard to do, whether he can give the Patriots what they need remains to be seen, but that’s true of all rookies. However unlike other positions all ge has to do is give them his best strength, the deep ball. You only have to hit on a few a game to open everything up underneath it. He’s a complementary player, but that’s true of their entire receiving corps. And even though I went into the off-season wanting Allen Robinson and Jameson a Williams I’ll take Parker and Thornton, because it at least gives Jones tool to work with. The Patriots don’t have the most talented offense even within their division, but they now have the players to run a full offense.

Agree completely, I’m optimistic he could be more than just a deep ball threat. Think 7 of his ten TDs were red zone catches. Ideally he’ll be both a speedy deep threat and a tall red zone target.Fingers crossed

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Jameson Williams was a guy that I really wanted in the 1st rd., but as always happens the players you really want that are in play early in the process move up to the point where you can’t get them. Thornton has a similar build and he’s even faster than Williams, which is hard to do, whether he can give the Patriots what they need remains to be seen, but that’s true of all rookies. However unlike other positions all ge has to do is give them his best strength, the deep ball. You only have to hit on a few a game to open everything up underneath it. He’s a complementary player, but that’s true of their entire receiving corps. And even though I went into the off-season wanting Allen Robinson and Jameson a Williams I’ll take Parker and Thornton, because it at least gives Jones tool to work with. The Patriots don’t have the most talented offense even within their division, but they now have the players to run a full offense.

He's a Freak Fast, and he can catch the ball (3.61 drop)
This kids going TO WAKEUP PATS FANS.

 

[VJCPatriot]

That was one of the main takeaways for me watching the Lazar breakdown on this kid. On the bright side, having a qb that bad helped him master catching the ball with his hands, far, far away from his body.

That is one of the problems that can plague some of the top WR prospect, they rely on body catching instead of snatching the ball with their hands. Thornton was kind of forced to use his hands to catch because his QB would so often be off target, throwing the ball behind him or in front of him.

Here's another film breakdown of Thornton. My takeaway, he needs to improve his release package, and become more efficient and smooth in his routes and just improve the versatility of the routes he can run. If he's a diligent worker these things should be correctable. But his physical package, and top end speed that truly threaten a defense, those can't really be taught.

But for Tyquan to be effective at the next level, he needs to get open quickly against pro strength corners, be decisive in his breaks [can't waste almost 2 seconds and not have gained separation like in college], and most of all has to be in the right place at the right time. The Pats read option system requires the QB and WR to be in sync and run the correct route based on the read on the defense. This last part is the part that scares me most. Does Thornton have the football IQ to quickly grasp New England's complicated offense?

 

[ralmat55]

I’m not sure it it’s been mentioned or not, but Thornton also has real good boundary awareness and an ability to get his feet down in bounds. I saw a end zone fade route he caught for a TD. Catching the poorly thrown pass was hard enough but getting both his feet down was ridiculous. Thornton is going to a lot of fun to watch.

 

[Salsalife]

Say this with me Pats fans, TRACK MEET. This guy has 1 mission, take the top off the defense. Now hopefully (IN MY DREAMS) hire Randy Moss as a tutor this summer to teach him HOW to be the size receiver with speed combinations. Film room, film room and more film room. Hopefully Hunter can now truly play Gronks role (Seam routes), Meyer and Bourne can run slot routes all day. Agholor sits, sorry, 484 yards last season, 11mill, 4.44 40 time, ain't cutting it. Defenses will have to double this kid in the preseason if he lights up a few corner backs. Let's go!

 

[Sam Bam Cunningham]

The comparison of TT to Jameson Williams is ridiculous. Jameson Williams is a polished route runner with blazing speed when healthy. He is also lightning quick off the line. He was not just rated highly because he was at Alabama. TT has straight line speed but his 7.2 three cone drill time suggests he does not have quick burst. He is also not a polished route runner across all routes. The expectations for TT by some Pats fans are ridiculous.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

The comparison of TT to Jameson Williams is ridiculous. Jameson Williams is a polished route runner with blazing speed when healthy. He is also lightning quick off the line. He was not just rated highly because he was at Alabama. TT has straight line speed but his 7.2 three cone drill time suggests he does not have quick burst. He is also not a polished route runner across all routes. The expectations for TT by some Pats fans are ridiculous.

Yeah...he sucks, he's not as good as hobbled Jameson..
Put TT on ALA, He's a A Stud.

Enjoy the Pipe.

 

[VJCPatriot]

The comparison of TT to Jameson Williams is ridiculous. Jameson Williams is a polished route runner with blazing speed when healthy. He is also lightning quick off the line. He was not just rated highly because he was at Alabama. TT has straight line speed but his 7.2 three cone drill time suggests he does not have quick burst. He is also not a polished route runner across all routes. The expectations for TT by some Pats fans are ridiculous.

I'm sorry. What expectations? Did anyone in this forum suggest that he's gonna be better than Jameson Williams because I haven't heard it.

Most of us are just hoping he can reach somewhere between the area of Deion Branch or Brandin Cooks as a pro. We need a WR to take the top off a defense and Agholor has not been that guy yet. Obviously BB and Groh drafted Thornton in the hopes he could threaten the defense enough to take the lid off our slot receivers such as Bourne and Jakobi Meyers.

 

[Patsgofor4]

The comparison of TT to Jameson Williams is ridiculous. Jameson Williams is a polished route runner with blazing speed when healthy. He is also lightning quick off the line. He was not just rated highly because he was at Alabama. TT has straight line speed but his 7.2 three cone drill time suggests he does not have quick burst. He is also not a polished route runner across all routes. The expectations for TT by some Pats fans are ridiculous.

Tell us that you don’t know the significance of the 3-cone drill without telling us that you don’t know the significance of the 3 cone drill.

So much misinformation in one post. Yes, you take Williams 10/10 times but your “analysis” (ie. talking out of your rectum…again) of Thornton is simply wrong on many levels….wrong about his releases, wrong about his burst, wrong about his route limitations. 8 red zone TDs last year… you don’t see that in a thin-framed receiver who is only a linear go-route guy and who does not have release skills, burst or a varied route tree. It is also important to note that Thornton is clearly more physical at the catch point and as a blocker than Williams.

The following links demonstrate your complete ignorance about Thornton.

How Patriots’ Tyquan Thornton Learned to Control His ‘Superpower’ to Become Top NFL Prospect - CLNS Media

The Patriots have a well-documented history of failing to draft and develop wide receivers. Earlier this week, New England declined former first-round pick N'Keal Harry's fifth-year option, which again brought to light how the Patriots missed on the 2019 receiver class. Along with Harry, who was...

www.clnsmedia.com

Tyquan Thornton adds much more than speed to the Patriots offense

New England traded up to select Thornton last Friday.

www.patspulpit.com

What they saw at the Shrine Bowl was a player who was capable of much more than just taking the top off of defenses. Instead, they saw Thornton as a player who could help them in multiple ways.

“This isn’t just a linear guy,” Groh said. “You see him really be able to get off the line. And for as fast as he is ... to be able to see him get in the red zone and do some things, and it’s not just speed, it’s 6-foot-2, ability to get up and really pluck the ball out of the air. So, there’s going to be a lot of different things that he’s going to be able to do to help.”



You probably know more about him than Groh, though, right?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

The comparison of TT to Jameson Williams is ridiculous. Jameson Williams is a polished route runner with blazing speed when healthy. He is also lightning quick off the line. He was not just rated highly because he was at Alabama. TT has straight line speed but his 7.2 three cone drill time suggests he does not have quick burst. He is also not a polished route runner across all routes. The expectations for TT by some Pats fans are ridiculous.

Wes Welker had a 3Cone = 7.09, and DK Metcalf had a 3Cone of 7.38. Lots of variables involved here so is not as easy as looking at 1 stat to draw conclusions.

I agree Thornton has to clean up his release and get better at the top of his routes - let's hope he does that. Thornton is already taller, faster, and smoother than Jameson Williams. Williams was at Ohio State and was 4th on the depth chart behind Wilson and Olave before transferring to Alabama, so there is ridiculous WR talent in this draft.

Thornton was in a pass second offense, his QB sucked (I can't imagine how much he will enjoy playing with Mac), he was loyal, and improved noticeably every year.

So does Thornton have ideal stats in every testing parameter? No. Compare Tyquan to Moss. 3Cone 7.19 versus 7.19. High Jump 36.5 versus 33. Long Jump 130 versus 117. Tyquan is as good or better than Moss in the "explosion" tests, and Moss was a pretty good WR.

Thornton has a lot to learn, that is why he is a 2nd round pick. But he tests extremely well, was a hard worker, loyal, and improved every year in college, so I am hopeful.

 

[Salsalife]

So does Thornton have ideal stats in every testing parameter? No. Compare Tyquan to Moss. 3Cone 7.19 versus 7.19. High Jump 36.5 versus 33. Long Jump 130 versus 117. Tyquan is as good or better than Moss in the "explosion" tests, and Moss was a pretty good WR.

Hold it, Moss was the best WR to put on a Patriots uniform, full stop. Check the tape. Randy Moss jr is coming.... Just all summer kid work on the one hand catch!! And And AND wear #81.
youtube.com/watch?v=kqMVSslKu58

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

I see it, I see it. Bill Belichick is gonna Make Randy Moss Clone!
Moss
View attachment 42954
Tyquan
View attachment 42955
Same Guy! Go PATS! 20 TD This year!!!

I know this is on a site but A LOT of people have disputed this. I've never seen it verified by anyone saying it's real. That vert looks awfully suspect considering Randy was 6'4 and dunking as a teenager.

I know it's listed online but that site has been wrong before on multiple players. Maybe they did it differently and let you take a "gather step" but reports of hid vert were like 45+.

I wish someone would clear this up.