The Raiders are looking for answers at wide receiver, and one wideout the new coaching regime hasn’t gotten a look at this year is Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Last year, Thornton was the talk of training camp but was not productive during the regular season and by the end of the season was largely relinquished to the bench.
Some wrote off Thornton’s struggles in his rookie year as a product of coaching, but it doesn’t seem like the current coaching staff has been anxious to get him on the field, either.
On his flagship radio show last week, JT Brick said he hasn’t gotten the impression from head coach Klint Kubiak that Thornton has made a big impression.
“Dont’e Thornton Jr., I’m not going to say he’s in the doghouse, but Klint Kubiak told me right to my face he’s got to compete,” JT said his Raider Nation Radio show.
“That means to me that he hasn’t been good enough to get on the field. Someone in this wide receiver group has got to be good enough to stay on the field and make a play. That’s it. This is grown-*** men’s football.”
Thornton still waiting to see the field in ’26
Thornton missed all of preseason with a hamstring injury and was placed on injured reserve on August 31.
The practice window was opened for Thornton on October 7, but the Raiders have yet to activate him for a game.
Last year, Thornton was raw in terms of his route running, and didn’t look good tracking and catching the ball, either.
What Thornton still has, though, is a 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame that was able to run an official 4.30 forty-yard dash at the NFL Combine. If he can tap into his elite physical abilities and translate those abilities into production on the field, the Raiders could someday have a dynamic playmaker in Thornton – but for now, that objective remains a work in progress.
x: @raidersbeat
Nailor and his half speed routes that he gives up on way too early should be in a smaller doghouse.