New Raiders WR Dont'e Thornton looking to prove he can run intermediate routes in the NFL after playing in Tennessee's unique offense
Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Dont'e Thornton was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round (No. 108 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft. Thornton is a physical freak who stands 6-foot-5 and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.30 seconds. According to the Shrine Bowl's Eric Galko, only three players in NFL history […]
Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Dont'e Thornton was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round (No. 108 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Thornton is a physical freak who stands 6-foot-5 and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.30 seconds.
According to the Shrine Bowl's Eric Galko, only three players in NFL history have been at least 6-foot-4 and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds or less: Thornton, Calvin Johnson, and DK Metcalf.
That's obviously some elite company. So why did Thornton fall all the way to the fourth round?
That's in part because Thornton was used almost exclusively as a vertical threat at Tennessee. As a result, NFL teams questioned whether he can effectively run short and intermediate routes at the next level.
"I'd say just my intermediate and medium route running," said Thornton on Saturday when asked what he wants to improve on. "With my past two years (at Tennessee), I haven't really had the opportunity to really display that as much. So just getting back into the flow of doing that. I'd say that was the No. 1 thing everybody was saying."
Those comments from Thornton are similar to the comments he made at Tennessee's Pro Day earlier this offseason.
"Just showing all the teams that I'm able to run pro style routes," said Thornton when asked what he wanted to accomplish at Tennessee's Pro Day in February.
"That was mostly every team's main talking point was asking with the offense that we run here at Tennessee if I'm able to run those pro style routes…I had to be very intentional, playing two seasons here at Tennessee, we don't have the same wide route tree that most pro style offenses have," added Thornton when asked about feedback from NFL teams about his ability to run pro style routes.
One of the biggest criticisms of Tennessee's up-tempo offense (which features wide splits for the wide receivers) has been whether it effectively prepares players for the complex offenses that are utilized by NFL teams.
Those questions/criticisms will likely continue until a former Vol that comes from Josh Heupel's offensive system becomes a star in the NFL.
