Patriots’ Tyquan Thornton: Is he Belichick’s best rookie receiver ever?
Tyquan Thornton impressed in his second regular season game. Could he put together the best season we’ve seen out of a Patriots rookie WR under Bill Belichick?
In his second career regular season game, Tyquan Thornton began to show some of the promise Patriots fans expected to see when he was drafted in the second round out of Baylor. Thornton ran the fastest 40-yard dash among wide receivers at the combine and proceeded to tease us with an excellent preseason. After fracturing his clavicle, we were forced to wait for his regular season debut.
Against Detroit in Week 5, Thornton caught two balls for seven yards. In Week 6, though, Thornton showed us what type of weapon he can be for this New England offense. He caught four passes for 37 yards, including a key touchdown reception early in the second half to put the Patriots up 17-6. He also contributed a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, smoothly displaying the type of speed we can expect from him going forward.
Yes, it’s early in the season, and yes, Thornton got a late start, but it is fair to wonder if he could put together the best rookie season of any Patriots wide receiver in the Belichick era.
While Bill Parcells’ selection of Terry Glenn paid immediate dividends in 1996, Bill Belichick has had no such luck drafting at the position. He’s done a bit better in scrounging for undrafted rookies, but they, too, have mostly failed to hit the ground running. The bar is quite low for Thornton.
Let’s take a look at the top five rookie seasons by a Patriots wide receiver in the Belichick era.
Top 5 rookie seasons by a Patriots WR under Bill Belichick: Jakobi Meyers
A quarterback turned wide receiver (sound familiar?), Jakobi Meyers joined the New England Patriots in the 2019 offseason as an undrafted free agent out of NC State. The 2018 receiver room was abysmal, with Julian Edelman, an oft-suspended Josh Gordon, and not much else. The Patriots prioritized this in the offseason and spent a first-round pick on what seemed like a can’t-miss prospect in N’Keal Harry.
Well, there’s a reason N’Keal is not on this list, but that’s for another day. Jakobi Meyers impressed in preseason and made the roster alongside Harry. While Harry did show flashes, it was Jakobi Meyers who put together the stronger season, totaling 359 yards on 26 receptions.
Jakobi, of course, is still with us today, and has carved out his role as the top option for both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. As it stands heading into Week 7, Meyers leads the team with 321 yards on 24 receptions.