This Makes Tyquan Thornton’s Patriots Failure Even Worse

It was tough to tell in the immediate aftermath of the 2022 NFL Draft if the New England Patriots made a mistake by drafting Tyquan Thornton in the second round.

The speedster out of Baylor wasn’t expected to get drafted that high, but it wouldn’t be right to label Thornton a bust without him getting a chance to prove himself on the field first.

But now with a two-year sample size of Thornton, it couldn’t be more clear that this is another pick gone wrong for the Patriots at a premium offensive position.

Thornton has done very little in a Patriots uniform. His rookie season got off to a delayed start due to a preseason injury, only fueling the narrative that his rail-thin frame wouldn’t be able to withstand the physicality of the NFL. He ended up recording 22 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games.

It certainly left room for improvement but how did Thornton build off that rookie campaign? Well, instead of progressing this season, he went backward and was practically invisible on a Patriots squad with a dire thirst for offensive talent.

Thornton once again faced injury trouble and didn’t produce much at all in the nine games he saw on the field, turning in a mere 13 receptions for 91 yards and no touchdowns. Some NFL receivers can have those results in a single game.

Thornton played just 42% of the team’s offensive snaps when he played and failed to step up even with injuries to Kendrick Bourne and JuJu Smith-Schuster. He found himself behind DeVante Parker, rookie Demario Douglas and castoff Jalen Reagor on the depth chart.

Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh once said to “get faster, you’d better get fast guys.” Not exactly rocket science but Groh got exactly what he wanted out of Thornton — he famously ran a 4.28 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. The only issue, and it’s a big one, is that Thornton can’t couple his sprinter-like speed with anything else. He struggles running crisp routes, leading him unable to get open despite all that speed he possesses. It’s telling that Thornton’s biggest play this season didn’t come in the pass game — his longest reception was 15 yards — but on an end-around run.

Making matters worse is after the Patriots used the No. 50 overall pick on Thornton, three receivers went off the board consecutively from picks 52-54.

Here are their stats from this past season:

Player A: 32 receptions, 514 yards, 2 touchdowns
Player B: 63 receptions, 1,140 yards, 5 touchdowns
Player C: 21 receptions, 244 yards, 1 touchdown

Player A is Indianapolis Colts wideout Alec Pierce while many already know Player B is Pittsburgh Steelers pass-catcher George Pickens. Player C is Skyy Moore of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Patriots would be better served having any of those three players than Thornton. It seemed foolish that the Patriots passed on Pickens at the moment, and that’s been proven correct even with the Georgia product having his effort questioned at times.

Pierce delivered two serviceable seasons with the Colts and it’s not hard to believe he would have the same level of production with the Patriots. Thornton’s stats somewhat resemble that of Moore, but Moore has something on Thornton that he probably won’t ever achieve in his career: a touchdown catch in the Super Bowl.

Obviously, the Patriots were wrong to draft Thornton over Pierce, Pickens and Moore. Selecting Thornton is a red flag when it comes to Groh, who reportedly ran a majority of New England’s draft that year, and it shouldn’t be viewed lightly with a new era unfolding for the Patriots with Jerod Mayo taking over for Bill Belichick.

There’s not much sand left in the hourglass for Thornton to prove his doubters wrong. He’s entering a pivotal third season, but there can’t be much confidence that he will turn things around with so many questions surrounding New England’s offense this offseason.

And with what Thornton has shown so far, it’s looking like he’ll join the likes of Chad Jackson and Aaron Dobson and be the latest draft bust at the wide receiver position for the Patriots.