New England Patriots
Tyquan Thornton Starting to Look Like a Patriots Starter

In Jerod Mayo’s first radio interview after being named the New England Patriots head coach in January, he cited three key positions for the New England Patriots to focus on improving. The positions mentioned by Mayo were offensive line, wide receiver, and quarterback. It was not a good omen for the players from the 2023 roster who occupied those positions. One of those players was wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, a second-round draft pick in 2022.
New England attempted to make significant changes at all three positions.
At quarterback, the Patriots drafted both Drake Maye and Joe Milton III. They signed veteran free agent Jacoby Brissett. They traded away Mac Jones and released Nathan Rourke from last season’s squad.
Along the offensive line, veteran Chukwuma Okorafor and Nick Leverett were among those signed. Mike Onwenu was brought back on a lucrative deal. Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson were drafted by New England.
But some of the biggest efforts of Eliot Wolf, Jerod Mayo, and the Patriots’ front office was to make major changes to the wide receiver room in Foxboro.
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The Offseason for New England’s Wide Receiver Situation
New England received minimal production from their wide receivers in 2023. Their leaders in receptions among the group were DeMario Douglas (49) and Kendrick Bourne (37), despite Bourne only playing in eight games. The rest of the group consisted of DeVante Parker (33), JuJu Smith-Schuster (29), Tyquan Thornton (13), Jalen Reagor (7), and Kayshon Boutte (2).
New England re-signed Kendrick Bourne on March 10. This prevented him from testing NFL free agency, which began three days later.
The Patriots released DeVante Parker on March 11. Parker signed with the Eagles two days later but then opted to retire.
Reports, confirmed by the Patriots themselves, had the Patriots making a serious push for free agent wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Ridley signed with the Tennessee Titans instead.
New England made two signings in free agency. They added K.J. Osborn and Jalen Reagor returned.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected Ja’Lynn Polk in Round 2. They added more depth when they drafted Javon Baker in Round 4.
Rumors linked the Patriots to 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. According to reports, New England offered to trade Bourne as part of the package to acquire Aiyuk. No deal happened.
The Patriots released JuJu Smith-Schuster after their first preseason game. Despite all of the activity, five members of the 2023 wide receiver room remained: Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, Jalen Reagor, Tyquan Thornton, and Kayshon Boutte. With the new additions, Thornton and Boutte appeared to be long shots to make the 53-man roster.
Tyquan Thornton From Bust to Starter?
The New England Patriots selected Thornton in the second round (No. 50 overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. His 4.28 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine is the fastest time ever posted by a Patriots’ draft pick.
Tyquan Thornton impressed early in training camp as a rookie. He scored in his first preseason game. However, he suffered a broken clavicle before the regular season began and started the season on injured reserve. He played in the final 13 games but struggled to produce at a high level. Thornton caught 22 passes on 45 targets, totaling 247 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He scored a rushing touchdown too.
Thornton struggled to stay healthy once again in 2023. He suffered a shoulder injury in joint practices with the Green Bay Packers, landing him on injured reserve to begin the season again. He played in only nine games and finished with 13 receptions (on 23 targets) for 91 yards and no touchdowns.
Over the offseason, Thornton appeared to make a concerted effort to add muscle. Social media posts showed him working out routinely with Bourne and Douglas. His dedication to improvement has paid off in training camp.
After appearing to be on the roster bubble entering camp, Tyquan Thornton worked his way onto the offense’s first unit. He started the game against the Philadelphia Eagles alongside DeMario Douglas and K.J. Osborn. The absence of Kendrick Bourne, who may remain inactive to start the season, has given Thornton additional opportunities, but he has made the most of them.
Despite having two NFL seasons of experience, Tyquan Thornton is still just 23 years old. He now has an opportunity to begin a season healthy for the first time in his career. His speed, work ethic, health, and age are all reasons for optimism. The New England Patriots have talked about wanting to weaponize their offense. It might turn out that a weapon with blazing speed was already on the roster.