With Kansas City Chiefs star Rashee Rice expected to miss the first part of the season, depth at the position is incredibly important. Early injury scares for Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy have further highlighted this need. Veteran pass catcher Tyquan Thornton has taken advantage of this and shown instant chemistry with Mahomes. A piece of this comes from having a year to grasp a complex offense after spending the 2024 season as a member of the Chiefs' practice squad. Now, Thornton is making a clear push to start the season on the roster.
It is going to continue to be an uphill battle for a roster that has a myriad of options but few that are proven. With this in mind, Thornton's early run is going to have to continue into the preseason to surpass players with better resumes. Kansas City brought back a handful of veterans as well as fringe roster pieces from a season ago. Even with Rice expecting a suspension, it is going to be far from an easy road to make the final cut.
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy on Tyquan Thornton: "You get these opportunities to make plays and he's done that. . . I think there's a lot of trust building right now between him and Pat."
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) August 5, 2025
Chiefs WR Tyquan Thornton Building Trust With Patrick Mahomes
Taking this a step further is Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who didn't hesitate to praise the pass catcher. The coach talked about the chemistry between Thornton and Mahomes. A coach praising a player to this level leaves room to wonder where exactly the depth chart might stand. This isn't a beat reporter pointing out a good catch or fan excitement over a nice day at practice.
Nagy is an incredibly important piece who is openly talking about his quarterback's chemistry with the young receiver. This has to be noticed at this stage of the preseason.
Thornton was a 2022 second-round selection by the New England Patriots in the team's attempts to rebuild the offense after the departure of Tom Brady. As has often been the case with Pats receivers, things went sideways. Thornton didn't have the expected impact, and the franchise opted to turn the page after two years of frustrations. The young pass-catcher landed with the Chiefs' practice squad and spent the end of the 2024 season in the organization.
It seems this time was well utilized, with Thornton having built chemistry with the star quarterback and grabbing the attention of the Chiefs' offensive coordinator. It is safe to say this is more than a simple hot streak and leaves even more question marks about what the depth chart will look like heading into the regular season.