6 Patriots on the Bubble Ahead of 2024 Training Camp

2. Tyquan Thornton, Wide Receiver

Tyquan Thornton is not only on the New England Patriots roster bubble this offseason, but he's on the cusp of potentially receiving the dreaded NFL Draft "bust" label.

Thornton was a 2nd-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Baylor, and undoubtedly has the physical gifts to excel at the NFL level but we have yet to see any of that pieced together over any consistent period of time. To Thornton's credit, CLNS writer Mike Kadlick noted he looked good during a portion of OTAs:

"Tyquan Thornton is once again impressing during the Spring. The third-year pass catcher was the top “X” receiver for the Patriots on Wednesday, displaying his trademark quickness and some crafty catches both in traffic and out of his radius. After a photo captured by Patriots.com last week saw him working alongside special teamer Brenden Schooler, Thornton received some gunner reps on Wednesday."

- Mike Kadlick

There are a lot of new bodies at the wide receiver position for the New England Patriots this year. With the return of Kendrick Bourne along with the arrival of second-round pick Ja'Lynn Polk and free agent KJ Osborn, Thornton is already going to be scratching and clawing for snaps. Then you factor in that DeMario Douglas emerged as a viable option for this team last season, and it's getting easier and easier to see a path to a potential cut or trade for Thornton this offseason.

In his second NFL season, Thornton caught just 13 passes and only got on the field for 224 snaps in nine games. He needs his allegedly impressive OTAs to translate to training camp when the pads come on, or he'll be in danger of fighting for a WR5 or WR6 job in another NFL city soon.