Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs roster has seen this before.
Every year, it seems like the Chiefs take a flyer on a former high-level draft investment (read: a player with a first or second-round pedigree) who didn’t pan out on the team that picked him in the first place. Sometimes those signings yield some meaningful fruit while others flame out as expected, given the player was already considered a bust.
For the sake of a refreshed memory, consider the previous attempts by general manager Brett Veach to find a late bloomer for the Chiefs. Former Raiders draft picks Damon Arnette and Shilique Calhoun were employed for a spell. Linemen like Cam Erving and Martinas Rankin were around for a while. Perhaps others will recall the days of DeAndre Baker or Taco Charlton. At wide receiver alone, the Chiefs have tried former first-rounders Kadarius Toney and John Ross. You get the picture.
This offseason, Tyquan Thornton is the project for the Chiefs—or at least one of them. The former second-round pick of the New England Patriots landed on the Chiefs’ practice squad in mid-November and it looked like the sort of late-season addition destined to protect him for a longer look on the 90-man offseason roster for 2025.
The Chiefs swapped out Thornton for Cornell Powell on the practice squad and, as expected, the team has given him an official spot on next year’s early roster with a futures deal.
Tyquan Thornton is a chance worth taking for Brett Veach and the Chiefs.
Is Thornton just another longshot project at WR for the Chiefs—akin to Corey Coleman or John Ross? It’s possible. But it’s also possible that there’s some real value in various spaces for the Chiefs with the fourth-year wide receiver.
Thornton was a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, part of a quick run on wide receiver near rounds end that also included George Pickens (Steelers), Alec Pierce, (Colts) and Skyy Moore (Chiefs, obviously). He came into the league after a sensational final season at Baylor where he had 62 catches for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Bears.
Few players in that draft class helped themselves more than Thornton at the NFL Combine where he turned heads after earning a 4.28 second time in the 40-yard dash. Such a striking demonstration of his vertical speed enticed the Patriots to select him much higher than most draft analysts expected, likely with a vision of using him in creative ways to take advantage of mismatches in coverage.
That said, Thornton was lean in college and that was always going to be a concern at the professional level. Someone so slight is likely to never win any contested catches and if timing and routes can be easily interrupted or stymied, teams are going to have to get creative in their schemes for Thornton.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Thornton never turned into the offensive weapon they hoped he would be. He only played in 28 games over three seasons and caught 39 passes for 385 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last season, he had 4 catches for 47 yards before being released.
If that sounds uninspiring, it is, but the Chiefs are likely looking at a few angles here. First, Thornton’s long speed cannot be taught. NFL teams are looking for any slight advantage and being faster than the other guy is one of them.
It’s also important to note that Thornton started his first two seasons on injured reserve—bad both for the player and team. The Patriots’ coaching staff was always going to need time to learn how to best deploy Thornton as a weapon given his strengths and weaknesses. And for Thornton, it’s hard to adjust to a new level when a player is just trying to get his body right.
The Pats primarily tried to use Thornton as a Z receiver before largely trying him in the X role in his final preseason but none of that ended up working out. But it’s hard to succeed when your offense is anemic and the quarterbacks are Mac Jones and/or Bailey Zappe. Leadership changes and coaching turnover didn’t help matters either.
At the very least, Thornton is worth a look in a more stable environment and an offense with a proven ability to scheme to a player’s strengths. If he can continue to add more bulk and stay healthy this offseason, the Chiefs might find something they like as training camp comes into view.