It seems everyone and his dog wants the Patriots to add a receiver this offseason.
It’s almost unanimous in a polarized world where unanimity is nearly an impossibility.
And the logic is simple.
Sure the coaching of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge was a significant issue last season – an issue that’s already been addressed with the addition of new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien this offseason – but it wasn’t the only explanation (excuse?) for Mac Jones’ frustrating year-two regression and the worst New England offense in two decades.
There’s an obvious and inarguable lack of elite passing game weaponry on the Patriots offense. It is what it is. And with leading receiver Jakobi Meyers an impending free agent, the group could lose its most consistent, capable target from the last three years.
So it’s no surprise that some in the world o’ Patriots are drunkenly lusting this offseason for a trade for ascending Bengals No. 2 playmaker Tee Higgins, an idea that would cost a first-round pick (and more) and likely a $100 million-plus contract.
Or that others want to use the No. 14 overall pick in the draft on a theoretically-elite prospect like USC wideout Jordan Addison. (Or insert the name of your personal wide receiver prospect du jour here!)
Maybe you’re even in the camp that New England needs to pursue an aging, fading, once-great option like Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins, Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans or Los Angeles’ Keenan Allen.
Collectively we want a receiver. We need a receiver. Now.
And how!
But this talent-seeking offseason community-based wide receiver search party is either missing or ignoring one potentially key thing: a high-end investment at the position that Bill Belichick, Matt Groh and Co.
already made less than 10 months ago to address wide receiver.
Where, oh where, has the faith in/hope for Tyquan Thornton gone?
With Groh’s articulated desire to add speed to the roster last April, New England took the fastest wide receiver from last year’s NFL Scouting Combine with the No. 50 overall pick. Forget his record-setting skinny wrists and frail-looking frame, Thornton was brought aboard as a second-round pick. That’s a significant asset used on a significant need for what should be a significant prospect.
Yet no one seems to have any faith or hope that Thornton could or should be the future atop the depth chart at the receiver position in Foxborough.
Why?
Is it because fears of durability concerns based on his build were realized before he played a single NFL snap, opening his career on IR with a broken collarbone suffered in preseason action?
Is it because he caught a mere 22 passes for 247 yards with two touchdowns in the 13 games he did play in with nine starts as a rookie?
Or is it more about observational concerns from that playing time -- including seeing more than 88 percent of the snaps in four of the final five games of the season – that included drops and an inconsistent ability to make plays in the middle of the field?
Whatever the reason, fans and media alike have seemingly forgotten Thornton. Discarded him. Pushed him aside as yet another Patriots draft bust as the receiver position. Moved on.
Whether he’ll ever reach his draft-based expectation or potential is fair game for questioning at this still-early point. But he should still be in the conversation on some level.
We’re all well aware, unfortunately, that guys like Deebo Samuel, D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown and others have developed from second-round picks (or lower) into go-to playmakers for their teams. And while all probably showed more hope in their rookie seasons than Thornton, they weren’t all instant impact offensive options.
It’s worth noting at this point, as well, that last summer the reviews of Thornton’s work on the practice field were almost universally lauded. He was light years ahead of just about any other drafted receiver in either recent or not-so-recent New England memory. He was competitive on the practice field. He was productive. He showed significant potential.
But you wouldn’t know that now.
Thornton is now a forgotten man.
Left to the history books of Patriots wide receiver disappointments past.
Everyone has seemingly already moved on, wanting for someone bigger, faster, stronger and better. All of which will come at a cost.
Yet Thornton remains at Gillette Stadium. Working his craft on the practice field. A cost-controlled, potential-filled option at the Patriots wide receiver position. A possible need filled without added investment.
Whether anyone still realizes it or not.
Maybe Thornton will indeed end up another name on the long list of Patriots wide receiver draft pick busts.
But isn’t it a tad too early to make that declaration?