3 Patriots Veterans Who Will Be Cut Following the NFL Draft

2. Tyquan Thornton, WR

All eyes were on Tyquan Thornton when the Patriots drafted him in the second round of the 2022 draft. He was coming off a career year with the Baylor Bears that saw him record 62 receptions for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns en route to a second-time All-Big 12 appearance.

Unfortunately, the 23-year-old hasn't come close to meeting expectations. After tallying 45 catches, 247 yards, and two touchdowns as a rookie, Thornton posted an abysmal 13-91-0 stat line in nine games in Year 2. He also rushed three times for 51 yards, but that wasn't enough to avoid Patriots fans viewing him as one of the bigger busts in recent years.

Thornton still played 42% of offensive snaps, but that had a lot to do with the Patriots' putrid wide receiver room. The bad news for the Miami, FL native is that management addressed that weak spot at the draft, adding Washington's Ja'Lynn Polk (Round 2, Pick 37) and Central Florida's Javon Baker (Round 4, Pick 110) last week.

Throw in the fact that Demario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, K.J. Osborn, DeVante Parker, and JuJu Smith-Schuster are all on the roster and it's clear that Thornton has an uphill battle ahead of him. Unless he has an insane offseason showing, the Patriots won't lose any sleep by parting ways with him.