The 2025 NFL season was a rollercoaster ride for Kansas City Chiefs wideout Tyquan Thornton. Despite having more outings with fewer than 50 receiving yards (10) than above that mark (4), Thornton finished the campaign with career marks across the board, resulting in his re-signing with the Chiefs on a two-year, $11 million contract in free agency.
JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown's offseason exits in free agency have left the door open for Thornton to step into a starting role. While both Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice are far ahead of him in the pecking order, Thornton has been put into a starting role that leaves the receiver with zero ability to disappear and no excuses if things go awry.
Tyquan Thornton Must Meet Chiefs' Expectations
As the WR3, Thornton must show up more consistently than he did last season. Yes, there were flashes of brilliance when the former 2022 second-rounder is on his game, as proven by his amassing 13 catches for 272 yards and three touchdowns in the Chiefs' first five games.
At the same time, Thornton is known for a disappearing act or two. He tallied five zero-catch outings last season and even caught only two balls for 100 yards in a seven-game stretch between Week 6 and 13.
His season splits further illustrate why his newest contract might be a gamble:
Week 1-5 | Week 6-18 | |
|---|---|---|
Games Played | 5 | 9 |
Catches | 13 | 6 |
Receiving Yards | 272 | 166 |
Touchdowns | 3 | 0 |
17-Game Pace | 44-925-10 | 11-314-0 |
In other words, the Chiefs are likely hoping that everything towards the end of the season was an outlier.
Thornton showed impressive chemistry with Patrick Mahomes, who didn't hesitate to toss the ball up for the speedy receiver. Still, there is reason to wonder if Thornton can live up to the task without Brown and Smith-Schuster around, both of whom accounted for 119 targets last season.
Already, the Chiefs are dealing with concerns when it comes to Worthy after a down Year 2, so the last thing they need is to worry about Thornton, too. It's not as if he can afford to take his foot off the gas, either. Second-year WR Jalen Royals is right behind Thornton on Kansas City's WR depth chart, giving the latter every reason to step up.
Another change that will benefit Thornton is Eric Bieniemy's return as offensive coordinator. Bieniemy's presence during his last run was key behind Tyreek Hill's perennial All-Pro/Pro Bowl success, and while that's not to say that Thornton will reach similar heights, it does show that his new OC could be the perfect man to weaponize his speed.
All eyes will be on Thornton to see which version of him will take to the field in Week 1. Will it be the version that had an electric start to the 2025 season? Or the one that disappeared in the middle of the campaign?
Whatever happens will be up to Thornton, and whether he's willing to consistently meet the expectations created when he signed his latest Chiefs contract.