Player: Tyquan Thornton
Team: New England Patriots
Pick: 50th (2nd Round)
On the latest episode of the Razzball Fantasy Football Podcast Bobby LaMarco is joined by The Huddle Report’s #1 Mock Drafter (5-year average) Matthew Jones from the Draft Examiner. Matthew jumps on the podcast to talk about New England’s new WR Tyquan Thornton and his fit with the Patriots. To hear our full analysis, check out the YouTube video included with this article.
Thornton has measurables that are rarely matched. Standing in at 6’2 and 183 pounds Thornton’s 4.28 40-yard dash comes in at the 100 percentile according to PlayerProfiler.com. Thornton isn’t all measurables as he put up a solid 62-948-10 in his final season at Baylor. That production resulted in a solid 76th percentile college dominator and 88th percentile college target share.
Now heading to New England Thornton will look to buck the trend of Patriots WR draft bust during the Bill Belichick era. This list includes 8 straight WRs drafted on days 1 and 2 that never produced a top 24 WR season in the NFL. The expectations will be high for the rookie, but it will be an uphill battle to see the field in year 1. Currently, the Patriots WR core includes solid veterans DeVante Parker, Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, and Nelson Agholor. However, his window of opportunity could open as soon as year 2. Parker, Meyers, and Agholor all are either free agents or hold a zero dead cap as soon as 2023.
Currently, Tyquan Thornton’s best ball ADP sits at 274. This essentially makes him undrafted in the standard 12-team 20-round best ball drafts. We tend to agree that he is best left undrafted in redraft due to the competition for targets. On the flip side, according to our consensus dynasty rookie rankings, Thornton is the 32nd pick. This draft cost puts him right after Steelers’ 4th rounder Calvin Austin and right ahead of WRs Justyn Ross and Velus Jones.  Based on his draft capital and being tied to a potential franchise QB in Mac Jones, his dynasty ranking seems like a buy.
Sources: Razzball, Player Profiler, RotoHeat, Fantasy Pros, Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus, Spotrac.com, Overthecap.com, Ourlads, Bestball 10s, Underdog Fantasy, and NFC
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