‘Exceeding my expectations’: Chiefs WR Tyquan Thornton draws early-season praise

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As officials reviewed and ultimately overturned a Tyquan Thornton touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, he had a premonition.

“I knew he was coming to me,” Thornton said. “I knew he was going to give me another opportunity.”

The Kansas City Chiefs led by a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter Sunday’s win against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, when the replay booth turned Thornton’s TD into third-and-10.

Thornton only signed with the Chiefs last November and only took on a larger role in the offense because Andy Reid’s offense has been down three receivers — Rashee Rice (suspended), Xavier Worthy (shoulder) and Jalen Royals (knee) — through the season’s first three games, but he had faith that Mahomes’ confidence in him wasn’t shaken.

“I knew he was going to be a good football player, but he’s even exceeding my expectations,” Mahomes said. “He’s stepping up whenever the opportunity has been provided for him.”

As officials reviewed the previous play, deciding that the ground helped Thornton secure the catch as he went to the ground, Mahomes was going through possible third-down plays with the coaching staff. He suggested a play to Kansas City’s coaches that he liked, which just happened to call for a one-on-one shot downfield to Thornton.

Mahomes retreated several yards after taking the snap and rolled to his right to escape the Giants’ pass rush before firing a pass from outside the right hash to the numbers on the left side of the field.

“It was just about buying time with that defensive line,” Mahomes said. “I wish I could have gotten it a little bit further and made it an easier catch, but a tremendous catch by him.”

Thornton turned completely around, backpedaling as he ran inside the 10-yard line to adjust for the throw and snag the ball at the 1-yard line.

“Once I locked onto the nose of the ball, I just squeezed on it,” Thornton said.

As he skidded into the end zone with Dru Phillips laying on him, Thornton reached his right arm toward the sky with one finger held high.

“I learned that in high school,” Thornton said. “It’s kind of giving the sideline confirmation that we got this one, because I didn’t hold that first one. Now, everybody’s like, ‘Hold on, did he get it?’ Then, once you see that hand up, it lets you know you can breathe a little bit.”

Kareem Hunt scored a touchdown one play later to salt away a 22-9 victory, which featured a career-high five catches for a career-best 71 yards and a touchdown for Thornton.

The touchdown came on the opening drive of the third quarter, beating Phillips inside on a slant route from the slot for a 5-yard score.

He signed with Kansas City’s practice squad in mid-November last season after he was cut by New England, where he totaled 39 catches for 385 yards with two touchdowns in 28 games across three seasons.

The former second-round pick from Baylor averaged 13.8 yards per game with the Patriots, but he’s been the Chiefs’ best receiver through three games.

Thornton only had more than 40 yards once — a 60-yard performance on New Year’s Day against Miami as a rookie — but he’s topped that mark in all three games Kansas City, totaling nine catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns already this season.

He's had three of his four best career games in a row to start 2025 with the Chiefs.

“I’m super happy for him to go out and execute the game plan and make some tough catches when his number’s called, because we’re going to need him as the season progresses,” linebacker Nick Bolton said.

Putting his struggles in New England behind him, Thornton has carved out a role as a deep threat for Mahomes.

“He’s showing some things,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “He’s a guy that I know JuJu (Smith-Schuster) spoke highly of when he was at the Patriots and I’ve mentioned Bill Belichick gave him big compliments. He’s come in here and done nothing but work hard, so it’s nice to see him getting an opportunity.”

Nobody would have blamed Thornton if he felt dejected last season, but he didn’t join the Chiefs feeling like an NFL bust.

“Every day was like the Super Bowl for me,” Thornton said. He continued, “You’ve just got to know who you are. Look at yourself in the mirror. Sometimes, life will get hard on you, but you’ve got to keep working.”

When injuries led to practice reps for Thornton down the stretch last season, he impressed.

“I would throw to him a couple times last year just to see what he had and you could see that he had some juice,” Mahomes said.

Now, that chemistry is showing on Sundays.

“Practie reps become game reality,” Thornton said. “You go out there and you work at the little things and you challenge yourself and you don’t shy away from it and you go out there on Sundays and give yourself a chance.”

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