Need for speed
Pats take Baylor WR Thornton, Houston CB/returner Jones
In rare shows of transparency, the Patriots admitted twice this offseason they were working to get faster.
With two picks Friday night, they got much closer to their goal.
The Pats traded up four spots to take Baylor wide receiver Tyquan Thornton in the second round of the NFL Draft, after striking a deal with Kansas City that cost them a fifth-round pick. The selection sparked a brief run of wide receivers, indicating Thornton would have been gone by the time they were originally scheduled to pick at 54th overall. Later in the third round, the Patriots stood pat with the No. 85 pick and drafted Houston cornerback and All-American returner Marcus Jones.
Thornton is a deep threat who caught 62 passes for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns last year and made the All-Big 12 second team, after overcoming an injuryriddled 2020 campaign. In March, he clocked a 4.28 in the 40-yard dash, the fourthfastest by a wide receiver at the NFL Combine since 2006. Thornton also posted some of the best marks in the broad and vertical jumps at this year’s combine, both demonstrating rare explosion.
On the flip side, the 6-foot-2, 181-pounder is one of the skinniest receivers in this year’s class who owns some of the smallest hands and lackluster quickness, as captured by his 7.25-second time in the 3-cone. Thornton’s 3-cone time is the slowest recorded by any Patriots receiver drafted under Bill Belichick.
Thornton was one of 30 prospects to take a pre-draft visit to Foxboro this spring. He met with several coaches and also spoke multiple times with Belichick during the draft process, including once during a meetup on campus.
“I love (Belichick) already,” Thornton told reporters on a conference call. “He’s a big process guy, and that’s all we talked about at Baylor, staying true to the process. I’m excited to work with him.”
Thornton also shared he models his game after Raiders All-Pro wideout Davante Adams.
“I love how he creates separation at the top of the route, and line of scrimmage as well,” he said. “I’ve tried to mimic that with my releases and route running, while adding speed to it.”
It’s unclear if Thornton will be able to contribute much as a rookie, playing behind veterans DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and fellow speedster Nelson Agholor. Serious questions pertain to his playing strength and ability to run a full route tree, which caused most media evaluators to project him as a fourth or fifthround pick.
Thornton was the No. 155 player on The Athletic’s consensus draft board, an average of all major media draft rankings that annually proves to be the most predictive board publicly available. He also failed to crack the top 150 for NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout with the Browns, Eagles and Ravens.
The Patriots drafted Thornton over other wideouts in Georgia’s George Pickens, Cincinnati’s Alec Pierce, Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore and Memphis product Calvin Austin III. His addition sparked memories of a pre-draft conference call new director of player personnel Matt Groh held with reporters on April 15.
On adding wide receivers,
Groh said: “You can’t just sit around and wait and hope to get one of these guys in the draft. You’ve got to be proactive about going to go get one of them.”
On the other side of the ball, Jones pocketed five interceptions and 18 pass breakups last season. He possesses elite ball skills and projects as a future nickelback in New England. In the meantime, he should compete for starting jobs as a kick and punt returner, having tied the NCAA record with nine career return touchdowns, including four scored last year.
Outside of special teams, he covered receivers outside and in the slot at Houston, where he transferred in 2019 after two seasons at Troy. Jones finished his college career with 10 picks and 42 pass deflections in 44 games played. He plays physically, much bigger than his stature would indicate.
Jones did not run or test at the NFL Combine due to shoulder injuries, however, he’s still seen as one of the most dynamic athletes in this class. In 2021, he scored a touchdown four different ways — reception, punt return, kick return and interception return.
For his all-around performance, he was honored with the 2021 Paul Hornung Award, an annual honor given to the most versatile player in college football.
The 23-year-old former captain now joins Jalen Mills, Malcolm Butler, Jonathan Jones, Terrance Mitchell, Myles Bryant, Shaun Wade and Joejuan Williams on the team’s cornerback depth chart.
The Patriots traded their last selection, the 94th overall pick, to Carolina for a fourth-rounder and a 2023 third-round pick.