Tyquan Thornton may have only caught two passes for seven yards Sunday, but the blazing fast rookie was getting open down the field with regularity.
The Patriots are supposedly expecting big things from the Baylor product.
A few days ago, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said on NBC Sports Boston that somebody within the Patriots organization compared Thornton to Robbie Anderson. “The comp I got from somebody there was actually Robbie Anderson," Breer said. "If that's the result of your second-round pick, that's a pretty good result.”
Indeed it is. Anderson is a game-changing wideout who’s caught 148 passes for 1,615 yards over the previous two seasons, playing with lousy quarterbacks in Carolina. Previously, he played four seasons with the Jets.
The Patriots think Thornton possesses the same kind of speed, Breer says, as well as other skills.
“He's got timed, world-class speed, so you know he's bringing that to the table. But what they saw in training camp was a whole lot more than that,” he said. “They saw toughness, competitiveness, elusiveness in his routes, skilled route running. So they believe that he's more than just a fast guy.”
While the Patriots kept it conservative with Bailey Zappe Sunday, they tried more downfield throws with Mac Jones over the first three games. Maybe he’ll return with a new weapon.
