Don’t mistake New England Patriots rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton’s relatively quiet afternoon on the stat sheet in Week 5 as a disappointing regular season debut. There were plenty of instances where he was separating from defenders and putting himself in position to make plays.
Keep in mind, rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe was under center, and the Patriots were still being safe with the play-calling.
Even though it’s clearly Zappe-mania in New England, the team is limited with him at quarterback right now because he hasn’t had anywhere near the same number of reps as Mac Jones, who could step in and really unlock Thornton’s potential.
The bottom line: If the rookie second-round draft pick continues to get open consistently, he’s going to have opportunities to make plays.
Tyquan Thornton had a quiet first game, but I wouldn’t expect that to last.
Thornton lined up at multiple spots and used suddenness + pace to create consistent separation vs the Lions’ press-man scheme.
Also saw flashes of the affect his presence has on deep safeties pic.twitter.com/FR0JTefw9s
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 11, 2022
Coach Bill Belichick sees the potential as well considering he kept the young wideout in on 42 percent of the offensive snaps in Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.
There’s clearly more than meets the eye than the two receptions for seven yards Thornton notched under his belt in his first official NFL game. If anything, it adds even more intrigue for a Patriots team desperate for offensive playmakers.
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