The Raiders had high hopes for Dont’e Thornton going into the season and a lot of that enthusiasm stemmed from Thornton’s impressive run in OTAs and training camp.
Thornton was a fourth-round pick out of the University of Tennessee and the consensus seemed to be in April that he was a raw prospect with elite physical traits in need of a lot of development.
But as Thornton shined in OTAs, the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore said the rookie appeared to be farther along in his development than anticipated.
“Thornton was thought to need plenty of polish to become a productive pro receiver. His college offense wasn’t too sophisticated. At OTAs, however, his footwork at the line of scrimmage appeared more advanced than advertised and his route running looked crisp. He could be further along than suspected,” Bonsignore said in June.
Five months later, though, Bonsignore has changed his tune on Thornton a little.
“[I’m okay] if you want to put Lockett out there on the outside. I just think that Dont’e Thornton is pretty far away right now. And maybe, you know, he beats out Tyler Lockett and earns another shot to play that wide receiver position,” Bonsignore said on the Vegas Nation First and 10 podcast.
“I have a feeling the Raiders are going to play a lot of 12 personnel, so that third wide receiver is probably going to play 25 plays maybe per game. I don’t mind that necessarily going to Tyler Lockett…”
After being left off the active roster in week 9 against the Jaguars, the coaching staff has pulled back the reins on Thornton, but he should get opportunities in the second half of the season considering the Raiders have fallen out of the playoff conversation.
For what it’s worth, Thornton isn’t alone in his patient development. It’s been a slow start to the season for all the rookies in Las Vegas.
Even Ashton Jeanty hasn’t met the expectations that come with being drafted with the sixth-overall pick.
The same can be said of second-round pick Jack Bech, who should have a bigger role in the offense now that Jakobi Meyers has been shipped to Jacksonville.
It’s early, but John Spytek’s first draft with the Raiders isn’t on the fast track to becoming a great one.
Once the coaching staff figures out how to use Jeanty, he’s going to become one of the most exciting running backs in the league, but the jury is still out… way out… on everyone else in the Raiders’ 2025 draft class.
x: @raidersbeat
First of all, a running back can’t be as good as he can be with a totally blown up offensive
line. Second, a wide receiver can’t run his routes without the time to do that. And, that is because the offensive line doesn’t give the receiver or quarterback the time to do that, Third,
A quarterback can go through his reads if the offensive does not give him time to do that. A
tight end (Bowers) etc.,, is the easier target with a weak offensive line.
EVERYBODY, that is open minded knows that the offense starts and ends with the OL for the exact reasons u state. Everyone but the Brady Bunch that’s running the football side.
We knew Thornton was going to be a project on draft day, until the media elevated him into something he isn’t, plus the organization dropped the ball on the Amari Cooper play. Once Bowers was down, The coaches were forced to play Thornton, and it probably did more harm than good for his development. They should let Lockett play, obviously he was signed to fill the Jakobi void, ease Thornton and Bech back into production. Assessing the current roster should be the only priority for the remaining weeks ahead.