Patriots’ receiver Tyquan Thornton will be team’s rookie MVP

Patriots’ rookie wide receiver Tyquan Thornton has turned heads this offseason, and he is now poised to be the team’s MVP for 2022.  When Thornton was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, many were scratching their heads.  They claimed that he was massively overdrafted, and said that this would be yet another Patriots receiver bust.

So far, in the 2022 offseason, Thornton has been anything but.  The 6’2″ receiver played his college football at Baylor, and is most known, so far, for running a 4.28 40-yard dash at the combine.

His insane speed being that tall and 220lbs makes him a freakish athletic player.  The Patriots also brought in DeVante Parker via trade to try and further boost the wide receiver group.  Given that Parker was brought in to be the WR1, and given that Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne are the second and third guys, it would make sense if Thornton would be able to slide into that WR4 role.

However, Nelson Agholor is still on the roster, and even though he didn’t have a great first season in New England, he’s still a talented player.  He enjoyed a breakout year in 2020 for the Las Vegas Raiders, and signed a $22 million contract with the Patriots.

He was a part of the massive spending spree the team went on last offseason.  With all of that said, Thornton has appeared to have outplayed Agholor this offseason, and that alone should make him the Patriots’ rookie MVP in 2022.  I don’t think we’ll be seeing Thornton make an occasional great play every few games; I think we’ll see him as a consistent contributor.

When you look at the Patriots receiving core, or the top three at least, you see that the team has three solid pass catchers. Secondary’s will have to spread themselves out to be able to cover Parker, Meyers, and Bourne, as they can all make plays, and I think that alone can open up chances for Thornton in the passing game.

Mac Jones will be able to distribute the ball well in 2022.  He’s got a nice disposal of players to use, and if the Patriots want to hang in the loaded AFC, they’ll have to likely start throwing the ball more.  If teams begin to fixate more and more on the Patriots’ top three receivers, Tyquan Thornton should have enough ability to capitalize on that opportunity.

Plus, his elite speed should surely allow him to sneak past defenses to make plays as well.  I think Thornton has played himself well into the roster, and his 2022 season should be a good one.