Dont’e Thornton ‘Further Along’ Than Expected

The Las Vegas Raiders look better positioned to win games during the 2025 season after a successful offseason of retooling the roster.

The Raiders’ new regime, led by head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek, made their first big move by trading for Geno Smith, solving their quarterback problem. Next, Las Vegas upgraded its skill position talent through the 2025 NFL Draft, with its biggest selection being Ashton Jeanty.

Jeanty is a franchise-level running back the Raiders can use for years, but the team also sneakily picked up Dont’e Thornton in the fourth round. Thornton is a tall receiver at 6’4″ who can blaze down the field, making him an ideal deep threat for Smith.

The knock on Thornton in the draft was his lack of a route tree, but he has been more impressive than initially expected so far this offseason, via Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

“Thornton was still thought to need plenty of polish to become a productive pro receiver. His college offense wasn’t too sophisticated. At OTAs, however, his footwork at the line of scrimmage appeared more advanced than advertised and his route running looked crisp. He could be further along than suspected,” Bonsignore wrote.

“Thornton is also taking reps as a kick returner for the Raiders. His speed and athletic ability could make him a huge factor on special teams.”

Thornton has pushed back against the narrative that he’s limited to go routes and that his routes lack polish, perhaps an indictment of how he was used at Tennessee. His size, frame and speed should allow him to open up the field for Las Vegas’ offense, but it sounds like he’s got more versatility as a player.

Jakobi Meyers is expected to lead the wide receiver room, with Tre Tucker and rookie wideout Jach Bech behind him. Thornton is a solid fourth wide receiver, but targets could be hard to come by in his rookie year, as Brock Bowers is in line to handle most of the work.

Regardless, the Raiders may have gotten strong value by waiting until the fourth round to pick up a player like Thornton. It’ll be interesting to see if Thornton can make a strong case for snaps once training camp begins.

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