6 rings: Judon makes presence immediately known following "Hold in"
Bill O’Brien has made an immediate impact on the 2023 Patriots offense since being hired as their new coordinator in January. His presence and style have been on full display over the past two weeks of training camp.
“Definitely been disciplined,” tight end Mike Gesicki said of the offense under O’Brien thus far. "Hasn’t been a lot of guys jumping offsides, hasn’t been a lot of guys lining up in the wrong spots or making mental errors.”
This discipline (along with his match-up and mismatch driven style of offense)
is what O’Brien prides his system upon, and he’s been putting in extra work with starting quarterback Mac Jones and a select group of first team wide receivers during special teams periods in order to perfect it. For a majority of camp, that group included JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki, Demario Douglas, and Tyquan Thornton.
On Sunday during a “routes on air” drill, however, Thornton was not involved. He was instead relegated to the scout team group along with Kayshon Boutte, Raleigh Webb, Malik Cunningham, Anthony Firkser, and Johnny Lumpkin.
The second-round pick out of Baylor had been a limited participant in practice last week, arriving for stretch before quickly scurrying to the conditioning field. He had also been managing a “soft tissue-related injury” earlier this offseason according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Even when healthy this preseason, Thornton hasn’t been very productive compared to his counterparts in the wide receiver room.
The 6-foot-2 pass catcher spent the majority of Sunday’s practice with back up quarterback Bailey Zappe’s unit, and had an up-and-down performance despite plenty of targets.
Thornton had a lackluster rookie season in 2022, hauling in just 22 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns after dealing with a clavicle injury to begin the year.
So is he actually being squeezed out of the offense after just one season? Although we’re still five week away from game action, as of now that might be the case. At best, he’s currently entrenched in (and losing) a competition with Demario Douglas for the fourth spot in the room behind Smith-Schuster, Parker, and Bourne. The former Liberty Flame has been the star of Patriots camp this far. He began New England’s 11-on-11 period on Sunday as the leading slot receiver and was immediately targeted by Mac Jones.
Thornton will likely make the roster given his value as a former second-round pick, but the inconsistent speedster looks to be a long way away from consistent playing time in this Patriots offense.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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