I don't usually get carried away with anything I see/hear in preseason. I'm a regular season guy. Show me when it counts.
But I gotta admit this was the single most exciting thing I've read from tc. I knew Thornton had speed,good hands and jump ball ability. I did NOT know he could change direction with any skill/quickness.
His intelligence and work ethic are also reportedly plus. Excited to see just how much more progress he makes.
I wasn't expecting a huge contribution from him this season. I am now readjusting my outlook.
My biggest questions with him are route running/making everything look through same, being able to contribute on all areas of the field. Going against bigger stronger CB outside by himself. And going from Baylor to NEP offense.
I like his movements though. We'll see what happens but this is from draft night.
Multi sport athlete in HS. Track background, legit burner that can fly. From Florida
Big time speed with different gears. Different type of speed that makes DB think. Most impressive attribute I noticed here was his body control and balance. He can shift, turn and move without losing any mph. Big time blazer. Not the quickest it takes a second to hit top gear but he's got legit high 4.2, low 4.3 speed.
No problems getting out his breaks but he has to get stronger he's tiny. Plus stop & start ability though. Fluid athlete with good COD. Again plus balance and body control.
Fiesty, tough blocker, plus stalk blocker. Very good tracking ability, remains calm and poised throughout this phase and can make a play in a the air now & then but again he's smaller at 180.
Good hands but could get stronger at catch point. They're small so he has to get stronger there. You can see it effect deep shots in close quarters at times.
Underutilized on offense and could be a deep threat from the slot as well as on in-breaking routes. Used primarily as a vertical threat. He could definitely handle more on his plate. Natural ST/gunner, day one. Good spacial and field awareness, he's alert and ready all times.
He has to add more details in his route running though. Head/body fakes, working off leverage, changing up his tempo, stacking defenders. Route running needs some work for sure. Wasn't exposed to a full tree and might not at this level bc of his size. He absolutely knows what to do, natural separation but he has to make the routes his own. A lot of this comes with experience.
I had a high 4th on him. Again surprised where we took not necessarily the prospect.