3 Patriots Draft Picks Who Are Officially Busts Following 2023 Season

2. WR Tyquan Thornton — 2022 Round 2, Pick 50

It'd be hard to find a Patriots fan who wasn't excited about Tyquan Thornton heading into his rookie campaign. After all, the 2022 second-rounder was coming off a stellar season with the Baylor Bears, hauling in 62 catches for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns en route to second-team All-Big 12 honors.

Thornton's 2022 campaign was underwhelming, to say the least. He was limited to 13 games (9 starts) due to injury, turning 22 receptions into 247 yards and a pair of TDs.

The hope was that he could be better and healthier in 2023, but that wasn't the case either as he posted a 13-91-0 stat line in nine games (3 starts). His latest performance is even more disappointing given that the Patriots were dying for their wideouts to step up all season long.

Injuries can be out of a player's control, but it's not like Thornton has been that effective when healthy. He has six drops in 22 career games, essentially averaging a drop once every four outings. His 51.5% career completion rate is putrid and he has carried a passer rating when targeted of 65.7 or worse in each of his first two seasons.

Thornton is only 23 years old, but I don't see things getting any better. He just can't stay healthy and when he does play, he's one of New England's worst wideouts. At the end of the day, he just wasn't worth the second-round pick — especially when you consider how fellow WRs George Pickens and Alec Pierce were taken with two of the three picks after he was selected.