Getty A key second-year player for the New England Patriots is having a "quiet" training camp.
The New England Patriots expected big things from Tyquan Thornton as a rookie, but injuries and an unimaginative scheme limited what the 50th player taken in the 2022 NFL draft could show. Expectations are high for Thornton to bounce back this season, but the wide receiver “has been quiet thus far” at training camp, according to Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports.
Sullivan noted how the session on Wednesday, August 2 saw “the former second-round pick, who reportedly was limited throughout the offseason program due to injury, being limited in practice for the first time all camp.”
Thornton was “limited for a second straight day” on Thursday, August 3, per the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.
This isn’t the first time Thornton’s struggles have been noticed this offseason. He’s “closer to the bottom of the Patriots’ receiver depth chart than the top,” per NESN.com’s Dakota Randall.
Thornton’s inactivity has also been referenced by Callahan, who says the wideout’s “lack of production is officially troubling.”
Time to Be Worried About Tyquan Thornton
Sounding the alarm bell feels appropriate since just available has already proved a challenge for Thornton this offseason, with ESPN’s Mike Reiss reporting in June how “a soft-tissue-related injury” took him out of action during OTAs.
This year’s setbacks are part of a pattern, after an injured collarbone cost Thornton the first four games of his rookie campaign. To make matter worse, he played just 527 snaps across 13 games following his return, per Pro Football Reference.
That’s not the workload of a go-to receiver, even though Thornton still flashed playmaking potential in a cameo role. Like when he snagged this 29-yard over-the-shoulder catch against the Miami Dolphins in Week 17.
More plays like this would give Thornton a chance to solve the Patriots’ lack of a true No. 1 receiver for quarterback Mac Jones. The problem was compounded by head coach Bill Belichick not match nor bettering what the Tennessee Titans gave to All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins.
Thornton was touted as somebody who might offset the failure to land Hopkins, but that’s beginning to look like the longest of long shots. It’s not that Thornton doesn’t have the talent, but the former Baylor ace needs to get onto the field more often.
Or else he risks being overtaken on the depth chart by more than one ascending Patriots wide receiver.
Rookie Receivers Outplaying Holdovers
Thornton will be forgotten if he can’t get back onto the practice field and keep pace with a pair of promising rookies. Sixth-round draft picks Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte are both catching the eye at camp.
Douglas has been a standout, while Boutte finally emerged by beating cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones during a productive session on Wednesday, per NESN.com’s Zack Cox.
Best practice of the summer so far from Kayshon Boutte. He won both of his 1-on-1 reps (vs. Gonzalez and Jon Jones) and just made a nice sliding catch along the sideline from Mac Jones.
Getting solid numbers from either or both of Douglas and Boutte would be a huge boost for the Patriots. The Jones-led passing game needs a spark it may not get from established veterans DeVante Parker and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Thornton could also provide an extra infusion of playmaking juice, but at the moment he seems restricted to battling Kendrick Bourne for the right to cling onto a roster spot.
Bourne is also enduring a quiet camp, only being “targeted twice” through the first four practice sessions, according to Boston.com’s Conor Ryan. Instead, targets are going somewhere else, with Smith-Schuster, Parker, Douglas and Boutte all getting more of Jones’ attention.
That’s not good news for Bourne and Thornton, with the latter facing an increasingly uphill slog to prove he indeed merits a key role.