Tyquan Thornton is a former 3-star recruit for the state of Florida. Thornton chose the Baylor Bears over other in-state schools such as Miami, Florida, and FIU. Thornton is a senior that struggled to see significant playing time until this year (2021). The 2021 season saw Thornton’s production on the field skyrocket. Thornton finished the season with 60 receptions and 10 receiving touchdowns. Thornton showcases electric speed and can seemingly run past any defender that is put in his way. Thornton uses long strides to simply glide past defenders and uncover to make himself available for the quarterback. In the NFL, I believe Thornton will have instant value as a deep threat, and defenses will always have to account for where he is aligned because he is a big play waiting to happen.

 Ideal Role: A vertical threat receiver / deep ball threat

Scheme Fit: Vertical offense

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Keith Sanchez 

Games watched: West Virginia (2021), Texas (2021), Oklahoma (2021), Oklahoma State (2021)

Best Game Studied: West Virginia (2021)

Worst Game Studied: Oklahoma (2021)

Route Running: Thornton is a high-waisted athlete that struggles to sink his hips on certain routes. Thornton can effectively sink his hips and work back to the receiver on curl routes and hitches, but struggles to run in-breaking routes with precision. He runs his best in-breaking routes when he gets off coverage and he can threaten the defenders vertically and then break inside to make himself open to the quarterback.

Hands: Thornton is comfortable catching the ball away from his body. He shows the ability to extend his arms and give himself a wide catch radius. But while attempting to catch a ball in traffic, Thornton elects not to extend himself and chooses to let the body get into his frame so he can secure the ball and protect himself.

Separation: See Above.

Release Package: Thornton doesn’t have a wide array of releases but he has a couple of effective ones that he uses in order to get an effective release. When he is getting a tight press look, Thornton likes to use a jump back release to get more space between him and the defender and then use his quickness to beat the defender. When he is getting an off coverage look, Thornton usually likes to use his quick burst off the line to quickly get in his route and make the defender bail due to his blazing speed. 

Run After Catch: After catching the ball, Thornton likes to immediately get vertical to use his speed to outrun defenders. Thornton has great speed and acceleration so when he catches the ball in the stride he becomes a threat to score with the football. Thornton is not an elusive runner and has a fairly thin frame.

Ball Skills: See Above.

Football IQ: As a receiver, Thornton has a pretty good understanding of coverages. He showed that he can quickly identify zone coverage and find the holes to make himself available for the quarterback.

Versatility: At Baylor, Thornton aligns both on the outside and in the slot, but I think he is most effective when he is aligned as a boundary receiver. Thornton has a long lower half, which affects his quickness. Thornton is a strider that operates best when he can stretch the field on vertical routes.

Competitive Toughness: Thornton is a competitive player and it shows in his blocking. Thornton is a willing blocker that will work to effectively block his assignment. This also shows his unselfishness and doing what it takes for the team to win.

Big Play Ability: See Above.

SCOUT GRADES

TDN Consensus: 73.00/100 (Fourth Round Value)

Crabbs Grade: 71.50/100

Marino Grade: 71.50/100

Harris Grade: 75.00/100

Sanchez Grade: 74.00/100