The New England Patriots are in last place in the AFC East with a 2-9 record. They are having the worst season in Bill Belichick’s tenure as head coach.
They also have one of the worst offenses in the NFL and have scored the fewest points in the league. Mac Jones turned from being a legitimate replacement for Tom Brady in his rookie season to being benched four times in his third season.
Jones isn’t the only offensive player that hasn’t panned out this season. One player that hasn’t panned out this season is Tyquan Thornton.
The New England Patriots drafted him in 2022.
The New England Patriots drafted Tyquan Thornton in the 2nd round, 50th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Thornton started his rookie season on IR.
Thornton suffered a fractured clavicle in the preseason against the Carolina Panthers. New England placed him on injured reserve to start the season. He missed the first four games. New England activated him off injured reserve on October 8.
Thornton post-clavicle injury.
He appeared in the last 13 games and started in nine, with 22 receptions on 45 targets for 247 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He also had 16 rushing yards on three carries and one touchdown. He represented 50.1% of offensive snaps.
He had the fifth most receiving yards at the wide receiver position behind Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, and Nelson Agholor.
He also played the third most snaps at his position behind Jakobi Meyers and DeVante Parker.
Thornton suffered an injury during joint practice.
Thornton suffered a shoulder injury on a diving catch during joint practice against the Green Bay Packers on August 17. New England placed him on injured reserve to start the season. He missed the first five games. New England activated him on October 14.
Thornton post-shoulder injury.
Thornton has appeared in five games and started in one, with five receptions on 12 targets for 34 yards. He has the fifth most receiving yards at his position.
Even though New England’s wide receivers have been banged up this season, Thornton hasn’t received much playing time. He played in 25 snaps (41.7%) in Week 6, 3 snaps (5%) in Week 7, a healthy scratch in Week 8, 12 snaps (18.8%) in Week 9, 0 snaps in Week 10, and 30 snaps (44.1%) in Week 12. He has represented a total of 70, or 9.87% of offensive snaps. He is seventh at his position in snaps.
New England’s offensive coordinator explained why Thornton hasn’t played that much.
Bill O’Brien explained why he hasn’t played that much this season. Here’s what he had to say:
“He’s a great guy, works very, very hard. And he just hasn’t had a lot of opportunities. I’m not making excuses for him, I’m just telling you he hasn’t been out on the field a lot. Shoulder, whatever it is, he’s had a couple of injuries over the course of his young career and he doesn’t have a ton of experience. That comes on the field then obviously the games. Tyquan works very hard and I think he’ll be able to do that.”
Tyquan’s route running has come into question recently.
One possible reason why he hasn’t seen much playing time is his route running. He has struggled with his route running this season either taking extra steps, bending his routes, or not getting to the spot quick enough. His receivers coach defended his route running yesterday. Here’s what he had to say:
“Tyquan, second-round draft pick for a reason. He’s very talented. He can run routes, he proved that in college. He’s proved that at time in his one-and-a-half-year NFL Career. But we’ve just got to be more consistent with anything, and that’s not just him.”
Conclusion.
Tyquan Thornton is still young. He’s battled injuries in his first two seasons and hasn’t received that much playing time because of that. New England should give him more opportunities for him to grow. Once he gets more playing time, we can get a better idea of whether he will last in the NFL.
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