Welcome to the team - WR Don'te Thorton

Time to take some tops off.


NFL.com

Draft Projection
Round 4

Overview​

Long, linear target whose primary function is to take the top off of defenses. Thornton can play through early contact and works past tight man coverage. He’s talented at stacking cornerbacks and tracking the ball when he finds top positioning. He can strike over the top or with routes allowing him to catch on the move. His route tree is limited, so two-high safety looks could park him in the garage. He’s average after the catch on short throws but plays as big as he measures, winning contested catches on all three levels. Thornton is a low-volume target with erratic production, but teams looking for vertical juice should have him on their boards.

Strengths​

  • Explosive vertically, with a career average of 21.9 yards per catch.
  • Play strength and hand-fighting pull him past physical corners.
  • Able to sink hips and gather quickly for comebacks.
  • Talent to track, adjust and win contested deep throws.
  • True speed to make house calls when catching on the move.
  • Works away from coverage and toward the throw for quarterbacks.

Weaknesses​

  • Runs a three-route tree with slight variations.
  • Value can be snuffed out by deep safety looks.
  • Long strides are gradual and rounded on in-breaking routes.
  • Separation burst from route breaks is average.
  • Lacks decisiveness and wiggle after the catch.
 
STRENGTHS:
● Elite combination of height, length and speed
● Covers large area in a short time using incredibly long strides
● Accelerates at top of his routes to create a step of separation on posts and verticals
● Shows sink and gear down when working back to the ball
● Elite success rate on throws of more than 20 yards in 2024 (caught seven of 10 targets)
● Can track, adjust pace and confidently look the ball into his hands
● Keeps his foot on gas pedal through the catch point for YAC opportunities
● 76.9 percent of catches in 2024 resulted in a first down or touchdown

WEAKNESSES:
● Ran a truncated route tree, and there isn't much mystery to the way he wins
● Never caught a high volume of passes (94 career targets over four years)
● Lean, slender body type with average strength
● Telegraphs where he is going at times and needs more refinement
● Not an elusive tackle breaker
● Looked lost playing slot in 2023 — outside-only receiver, at least right now
● Wasn't a special-teamer at Tennessee
● Didn't miss any games in 2024 but was banged up and missed most of playof game vs. Ohio State (Dec. 2024); missed four games as juniorbecause of injuries

SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Tennessee, Thornton was an outside receiver in head coach Josh Heupel's spread scheme (95.7 percent of his 2024 snaps came outside the numbers). A former top high school recruit, he spent two years at Oregon before transferring to Knoxville, where he was a low-volume target but a big-play ignitor (led the FBS with 25.4 yards per catch in 2024).

A nine-route monster, Thornton has easy speed to quickly stack or eat up cushions, often forcing cornerbacks to get stuck when they underestimate the surface area he can cover with his long, powerful strides. His deep acceleration can make him a decoy and help open the underneath passing game, but his incomplete route tree currently limits what he can do. Overall, Thornton lacks versatility, but his gliding speed and ability to find another gear downfield could make him a big-play threat in a specified vertical role. His value as a prospect will vary from team to team.

GRADE: 5th-6th round
 
samantha hoopes si swimsuit GIF by Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
 
When you spend the money we spent on Chip Kelly, give him toys.
  • Star RB: Jeanty
  • Double TE: Bowers, Mayer
  • Double PWR: Meyers, Bech
  • Double SWR: Tucker, Thorton
  • Double OL depth: Rogers, Grant
:koolaid:
 
Someone get him a chauffeur.

Bring back the bomb.
 
Eric Galko
@EricGalko
#Raiders got maybe the most explosive outside WR in the entire draft in Dont’e Thornton.

Standout at @ShrineBowl. And at the NFL combine, at 6’5, 205 he ran a 4.30 forty time

List of WRs who were 6’4 or taller and ran a 4.35 or faster at the Combine:
✅Calvin Johnson
✅DK Metcalf
✅Dont’e Thornton
End of list.

Congrats Raiders fans, you got a RARE receiver athlete who can give Geno Smith a vertical stretching weapon.
 
Crow said:
Eric Galko
@EricGalko
#Raiders got maybe the most explosive outside WR in the entire draft in Dont’e Thornton.

Standout at @ShrineBowl. And at the NFL combine, at 6’5, 205 he ran a 4.30 forty time

List of WRs who were 6’4 or taller and ran a 4.35 or faster at the Combine:
✅Calvin Johnson
✅DK Metcalf
✅Dont’e Thornton
End of list.

Congrats Raiders fans, you got a RARE receiver athlete who can give Geno Smith a vertical stretching weapon.
Click to expand...

Got a frame where he can probably add 10-15 lbs without losing much speed. Pete got his DK
 
Elite measurables. It will be very interesting to see how development. Could be a steal.
 
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