The Las Vegas Raiders couldn't pass up on the potential available to them with the 108th pick of April's draft, selecting a wide receiver in Dont'e Thornton Jr. who wowed with a 4.30-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.
With a 6-foot-5 frame, Thornton's size and speed figures to create a matchup nightmare for opposing defenders, and the fourth-round selection reminded Raiders owner Mark Davis of his Hall of Fame father's well-known appetite for dynamic athletes.
"Mark [Davis] joked that was the Al Davis pick of this draft," Raiders general manager John Spytek said after drafting Thornton, via the team's official website. "The height, weight, speed, raw traits, athleticism, speed, and I think it's just focusing on what he can do and what he can be. ... You watch his target tape, I think it's pretty impressive. And we think he hasn't hit his ceiling yet."
Thornton notched 661 yards and six touchdowns off just 26 receptions during his senior season at Tennessee, producing the highest yards per reception (25.4) in FBS last season. The 22-year-old furthered his prospective status with the second-fastest 40 time of any wideout and became the tallest player to clock 4.30 or faster at the combine since 2003.
Big-play ability is what the Raiders are hoping for with Thornton, and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly recognizes the type of weapon he has at his disposal.
"I think Dont'e is unique in terms of he's just a hair under 6-5 and he ran 4.3. There's not a lot of humans on this planet that do that," Kelly said this week. "And I think if you had a draw up an outside receiver, you would pick that type of body type, someone that's got length, someone that's got a huge catch radius, but also has speed. Sometimes you can get a big guy like that, but he can't really run, so they can stay with him. So, you add that speed element to him, his ability to sink his hips, his ability to get in and out of cuts."
Las Vegas pivoted in 2025 with the hiring of head coach Pete Carroll and and the acquisition of quarterback Geno Smith. While Carroll and Kelly aim to stabilize the Raiders offense with a sound rushing attack -- one headed by No. 5 overall pick Ashton Jeanty -- play-action passes might be where opportunity lies for downfield pass catchers like Thornton.
He could see ample playing time as a rookie, too, considering Las Vegas' very thin and very young WR room. Carroll is looking forward to getting a look at Thornton and the rookies during training camp as the veteran coach makes his return to the sidelines after a year-long hiatus.
"[I]t's a good looking group, and the idea is to force those guys to play early and make them have to play and to do that well," Carroll said of the rookie class. "You have to ask them to do things they're good at. If you just ask them to try to do everything that a veteran knows, they're going to falter and they're not going to be able to show themselves. But if you do it in a progressive manner that gives them a chance to show. Then by the time we get to mid-season, those guys can be regulars for us."
