One of the most intriguing players from the 2025 NFL Draft class is wide receiver Dont’e Thornton. The Las Vegas Raiders‘ fourth-round draft pick wasn’t asked to do too much at Tennessee from a route running standpoint, but he’s 6-foot-5 and runs a 4.30 40-yard dash.
It’s incredibly rare for a player to be that tall and that fast. Thornton has been the talk of the Raiders’ offseason since he was drafted. He was very impressive in OTAs, and that hasn’t stopped in training camp.
Notably, Raiders minority owner and legendary quarterback Tom Brady was at his first training camp practice with the team since he bought a piece of the franchise. He seemed to just be there to observe, but there was an extended moment that caught some attention.
According to KNTV’s Nick Walters, Brady had a chance to speak with Brady for quite a while.
“We couldn’t shoot all of Tom Brady’s interactions at Raiders camp, but a longer conversation I saw him have was with WR Dont’e Thornton,” Walters wrote on X.
“Brady looked eye to eye with the 6’5 rookie out of Tennessee. Vegas’ minority owner seemingly likes what he sees.”
It’s not clear what the two talked about, but Brady’s time in Las Vegas is limited, so the fact that he took much of that time to speak to Thornton is certainly interesting.
Thornton Has Been Having Impressive Training Camp
Thornton has the physical tools to be one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He may be the most physically gifted active wide receiver in the league.
However, he’s not going to be able to get open enough to make an impact if his route running isn’t great. According to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, Thornton has been looking like the real deal in training camp.
“Thornton has been the first-string ‘X’ receiver since OTAs and looks like he could make an immediate impact,” Reed wrote. “His physical talent was no secret, but he has also impressed with his improved route running.”
If Thornton’s improved route running translates to real games, he could have a big role on the offense as a rookie. He’s happy to be proving people wrong for now.
“My whole college career, and especially going into this previous draft process, the biggest knock on me was that I wasn’t a true route runner when it comes to intermediate and medium routes,” Thornton said recently. “Just being able to display that at a high level while I’m playing in the NFL now, I guess in a way it’s like proving people wrong.”
Thornton Talks Geno Smith
Thornton is fortunate that he’ll be playing with a proven veteran quarterback like Geno Smith to start his career. Smith isn’t widely regarded as a top-10 quarterback, but he’s a major upgrade over what the Raiders have had the last two years.
Even though they’ve only known each other briefly, Smith is going a lot to instill confidence in Thornton.
“He tells me every single day, ‘If you’ve got a one-on-one matchup, I’m coming to you,’” Thornton said of the quarterback. “It means a lot to me. Being a rookie and just getting here … just knowing that he believes in me a lot, it gives me a lot of motivation to keep getting better.”
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