Tyquan Thornton already turning heads in the film room

[Pats2000]

Yep.

Randy was fine in the short/medium passing game because they gave him a big cushion and he knew how to sit in a zone.

To expect Thornton to learn the latter Day 1 is not realistic.

Based on the limited film I've seen he's a man beater. Not sure on his zone beater capability, but I think that would be a film thing

 

[SlowGettingUp]

That's very interesting. Maybe the Moss comp is somewhat fitting. Moss ran a 4.25 forty, Thornton ran a 4.28. Moss had a 7.19 three cone, Thornton was a 7.25. Moss had an arm length of 34 inches, Thornton's arms are 33.25 inches. Obviously one physical difference is size - Moss was 2 inches taller (6'4" vs 6'2") and Moss was heavier (194 lbs vs Thornton at 181 lbs)

Interesting that Moss reputedly had a miserable Wonderlic score of 12. Belichick says he was one of the smartest football players he ever coached.

FWIW (not much) some alleged player scores:

Huge List of NFL Wonderlic Scores by Position - Wonderlic Test Practice

Sort and filter through a huge list of reported Wonderlic Scores by famous and not so famous NFL football players.

wonderlictestpractice.com

 

[TheRainMaker]

Interesting that Moss had a miserable Wonderlic score of 12. Belichick says he was one of the smartest football players he ever coached.

If you’ve seen a sample test, it has nothing to do with football. It has always been a pointless test.

 

[DaBruinz]

The rookies reported to camp yesterday. They did mostly testing and introductory crap. There were no throwing drills. And since most starting QBs aren't rookies, they may not even had a QB to throw to them. Rookie camp is not training camp. It is for getting the rookies ready for their first camp.

Zappe would have been there.. Just saying.

 

[Ross12]

Let's get that Mac to Thornton connection going before the vets report to camp!

They gotta get in there before the rookie steals their jobs.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

If you’ve seen a sample test, it has nothing to do with football. It has always been a pointless test.

Even if it was based on football, it would still be useless. Book smarts don’t help if you can’t recognize and react in real time; you need street smarts to play the game well. Book smarts are great in places where you can work in a vacuum and can think and fully analyze things through. But you need street smarts to react quickly and translate it to real things on the ground.

Said another way:

 

[scott99]

I don’t really see the Tyreek comparisons with Thornton, if any rookie looks like Tyreek it’s Marcus Jones… that kid can also fly.

With Thornton, I don’t think he has to be a volume reception guy to help this team win. He can be more of a deep threat who opens up all the underneath routes for the really agile weapons they have.

I think (best case) Thornton will be more like Desean Jackson in his prime or some combination of Jackson and DK Metcalf, a better David Patten.

He’ll get or skirt a little over 1000 yards, but he’ll average 18-20 yards per reception. He might only catch 2-3 catches per game, but still will effect the outcome with his speed and threat of his speed. He won’t have to catch 100 balls to be successful here.

I wonder what Marcus Jones would’ve run if he ran his 40. You can really see the speed on his last kickoff return for a TD in college. Tie game with like 30 seconds left, the team that tied it kicks off to Jones, he makes a few moves, and then you can just see him running alway from guys, pure speed. I’d bet he probably runs a 4.4 or better. I hope Belichick truly uses Jones as a Swiss Army knife like in college. I wanna see him on defense, offense and in the return game.

 

[scott99]

That's very interesting. Maybe the Moss comp is somewhat fitting. Moss ran a 4.25 forty, Thornton ran a 4.28. Moss had a 7.19 three cone, Thornton was a 7.25. Moss had an arm length of 34 inches, Thornton's arms are 33.25 inches. Obviously one physical difference is size - Moss was 2 inches taller (6'4" vs 6'2") and Moss was heavier (194 lbs vs Thornton at 181 lbs)

Randy Moss, in my opinion, was the most talented WR ever. Was he the best of all time ? No, I still think that goes to Rice. But talent wise, nobody had more talent at the WR position than Randy Moss. He was literally unstoppable, as a rookie ! Then of course several other All-Pro seasons. Still holds the record for most TD catches in a season. Led the NFL in TD catches 5 times. He was just a beast.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Interesting that Moss reputedly had a miserable Wonderlic score of 12. Belichick says he was one of the smartest football players he ever coached.

FWIW (not much) some alleged player scores:

Huge List of NFL Wonderlic Scores by Position - Wonderlic Test Practice

Sort and filter through a huge list of reported Wonderlic Scores by famous and not so famous NFL football players.

wonderlictestpractice.com

I'm betting some players just don't give a F on that particular day as crazy as it sounds or just have a bad day. I listed a bunch of scores recently and some were funny. Frank Gore scored a 6 I believe.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

I nearly spent time wrapped in a straight jacket at the psych ward because of N’keal drafted over AJ Brown.


Please let this news be true

 

[IcyPatriot]

 

[Wozzy]

I wonder what Marcus Jones would’ve run if he ran his 40. You can really see the speed on his last kickoff return for a TD in college. Tie game with like 30 seconds left, the team that tied it kicks off to Jones, he makes a few moves, and then you can just see him running alway from guys, pure speed. I’d bet he probably runs a 4.4 or better. I hope Belichick truly uses Jones as a Swiss Army knife like in college. I wanna see him on defense, offense and in the return game.

According to his coaches 4.3 speed, for what it's worth. Not for nothing, but you don't thrive in college or anywhere at his (or Tyreek's) size if you aren't supremely athletic.

He returned 6 kickoffs and 3 punts for TD's over a four year college career... including 2 kickoff TD's and 2 Punt TD's his senior season. He was a dominant CB in the slot by his senior year... he also caught 10 passes for 109 yards and a TD.

He needs to get and stay healthy. Everyone's hyped on Jack Jones, and I think he's good also, if healthy Marcus Jones could be a beast. I don't give guarantees on rookies, but the talent is obviously there.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

I'm betting some players just don't give a F on that particular day as crazy as it sounds or just have a bad day.

I looked at a practice test once and the first question was something like: "Tuesday is the 3rd day of the month. What date is the following Sunday?" and I was like "I'm not doing this ****!" (And I'm someone who beat the GRE verbal test back in the old days when they reported scores over 800).

 

[PatsFan2]

According to his coaches 4.3 speed, for what it's worth. Not for nothing, but you don't thrive in college or anywhere at his (or Tyreek's) size if you aren't supremely athletic. He returned 6 kickoffs and 3 punts for TD's over a four year college career... including 2 kickoff TD's and 2 Punt TD's his senior season. He was a dominant CB in the slot by his senior year... he also caught 10 passes for 109 yards and a TD. He needs to get and stay healthy. Everyone's hyped on Jack Jones, and I think he's good also, if healthy Marcus Jones could be a beast. I don't give guarantees on rookies, but the talent is obviously there.

It sounds like they got Two potentially good ones at great draft value.

 

[jimnance]

Even if it was based on football, it would still be useless. Book smarts don’t help if you can’t recognize and react in real time; you need street smarts to play the game well. Book smarts are great in places where you can work in a vacuum and can think and fully analyze things through. But you need street smarts to react quickly and translate it to real things on the ground.

Said another way:

Having both is the best way to go.

 

[PatsFan2]

They gotta get in there before the rookie steals their jobs.

Really want to see what Zapp's all about.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

According to his coaches 4.3 speed, for what it's worth. Not for nothing, but you don't thrive in college or anywhere at his (or Tyreek's) size if you aren't supremely athletic. He returned 6 kickoffs and 3 punts for TD's over a four year college career... including 2 kickoff TD's and 2 Punt TD's his senior season. He was a dominant CB in the slot by his senior year... he also caught 10 passes for 109 yards and a TD. He needs to get and stay healthy. Everyone's hyped on Jack Jones, and I think he's good also, if healthy Marcus Jones could be a beast. I don't give guarantees on rookies, but the talent is obviously there.

I've been more excited for Marcus and had a higher grade on him. Almost a 2nd. Extremely versatile and athletic. We don't have many guys like him that can effect so many different phases. Everyone should be pumped for him.

I looked at a practice test once and the first question was something like: "Tuesday is the 3rd day of the month. What date is the following Sunday?" and I was like "I'm not doing this ****!" (And I'm someone who beat the GRE verbal test back in the old days when they reported scores over 800).

Exactly. You'll get some guys that want to do well and others that know how foolish it is. As well as knowing their worth.

Yea again I looked at a bunch of scores recently and you'll see HOF caliber players with some of the lowest scores. I'm surprised it's still a thing tbh. Like 40 times I'm sure it'll be replaced shortly.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

Yea again I looked at a bunch of scores recently and you'll see HOF caliber players with some of the lowest scores. I'm surprised it's still a thing tbh. Like 40 times I'm sure it'll be replaced shortly.

Well a high score is a positive signal - you'll see most of the high scores (over 40) clustered among the QBs. But a low score even among QBs doesn't mean much at all - Deshaun Watson is a good example, as well as some old-timers like Terry Bradshaw. Incidentally Ben Watson scored a 48.

I know of a tech company that likes to hire highly-rated StarCraft players - that shows the ability to juggle many balls at once and make good tactical and strategic decisions quickly under pressure with imperfect information.

Speaking of video games, I'm puzzled why some smart team doesn't use multiplayer VR to train players (particularly the QB) in the playbook. The QB, OL and WRs could be playing the same play call against different defenses.

 

[rochrist]

Who gives a f**k about the film room…can he catch the damn football!? I think I’ve read and listened to endless things about this guy since the draft and not one bit of it is about the most important requirement!

Have you bothered to look at the film of him?

 

[Twentytothree]

. But a low score even among QBs doesn't mean much at all - Deshaun Watson is a good example...

Biting my tongue here.