‘There’s a lot of trust building right now between him and Pat’ — Overlooked wide receiver making strong case for Chiefs’ 53-man roster
Chiefs WR Tyquan Thornton has been overlooked because of his time with his former team, but the former second-round draft pick may have found a home in Kansas City.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes continues to build trust with his 2025 receiver corps during training camp, and one name is continuously popping up as we approach the “dog days” in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Tyquan Thornton, a former second-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2022 NFL Draft, has been overlooked because of the time with his previous team. The Chiefs gave the speedster out of Baylor a chance, and he’s seemingly taken full advantage through a dozen training camp practices, resulting in first-team opportunities.
Thornton, of course, joined the Chiefs’ practice squad late last season, but didn’t see any action on the active roster. That experience, according to OC Matt Nagy, has given him quite the advantage heading into this camp.
“Probably the biggest thing is his ability — he came here in the middle of last year — so mentally, getting it, being able to learn the offense,” Nagy said. “He’s transitioned that now into being able to play fast out of the huddle, and then you get these opportunities to make plays. He’s done that, you saw today. He had an excellent catch on that — turned his head and ran a little bit of a corner angle route — and made a great snag. There’s a lot of trust building right now between him and Pat.”
FOX 4 Kansas City’s Taylor Burr caught Mahomes’ throw to Thornton during 7-on-7 drills in practice.
Thornton listed several reasons for joining Kansas City in 2024, notably mentioning the wide receiver room and his guy, JuJu Smith-Schuster. He also noted the offensive scheme, Andy Reid, and Patrick Mahomes.
“Just seeing a different type of culture here,” Thornton said. “You know, seeing how they go out there and play fast, be precise, and going out there and just making plays.”
Things like attention to detail, precision with how the team practices, and “the little things” are what Thornton has noticed making a difference with his new team. There’s also the fact that he’s getting a bit more involved in different phases of the game on special teams. Coach Dave Toub says they’re working him as a gunner, kick returner, and in any other role they can find for him.
On returning kicks, Thornton doesn’t have much NFL experience leading up to this training camp, but he feels improvement by the day.
“I do them every day out here now, so we’re just getting better at it,” Thornton said of kick return. “I’ll say, probably I did it back at New England, a little bit in practice, but not in the game situation.”
The fourth-year professional has done just about everything up to this point that he’s needed to do to make the 53-man roster. That includes some tutelage of the younger players in the wide receiver room. The final test for Thornton begins when the preseason kicks off in Glendale, Arizona, this weekend.
“He’s a smart kid,” Nagy continued. “He does a lot of things the right way. You can tell he’s been in this league a little bit and, you know, he’s just, he has that experience factor to help out these young guys, too.”
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