The Patriots at the moment no longer have Nelson Agholor. While he didn't put up numbers or get feared like a number one should, teams respected his ability and he did help open up the underneath stuff for part of his time in New England. The Patriots have Tyquan Thornton but he’s not the same type of receiver.
In 2022 the Patriots had Parker who was a slower X that could maybe play the Z on occasion. Agholor was a fast Z that could play the X at a subpar level. Bourne is a flex, a hybrid slot and flanker but doesn't belong to either. And Meyers who was a big slot. And then there was Thorton.
Thornton in his draft reports or profiles was said to be a fast guy but I didn't see anything to say he was a legit X or number one. The best I saw was someone said he could be developed into a number 2. Let's be honest, under Belichick the Patriots do not develop receivers. Further more almost every report had Thornton listed as a day 3 guy.
Albert Breer said, ""One area scout assigned to Baylor told me he had a fifth-round grade on Thornton. Few had more than a fourth-round grade on him. He went in the second round."
Thorton really didn't have a role in 2022. He was drafted to be what the Patriots were hoping Agholor was, which is Brandon Cooks 2.0. That's not who Thorton is. The Patriots need to use Thorton as a flex or utility receiver and have him fill the deep slot role. While teaching him how to play the flanker position at the NFL level.
If the Patriots do not re-sign Meyers, they will need both a traditional flanker and a normal slot guy. Mac and Meyers have chemistry, so bring back Meyers would be wise on the Patriots behalf.
The Patriots wanna get a fast Z receiver and they should go after one but do not think that Thorton is that guy. They do not have Agholor's replacement in house. If Bill O'Brein can develop wideouts, Thorton should be Bourne's replacement.
The Patriots could go after Hopkins from Arizona They also could consider taking someone like Luke Musgrave and breaking the mold. Running a 4.5 forty, Musgrave could create Mismatches with his speed and size. And would be a deadly weapon to have on the outside across from Parker. It's just a thought but he's the prototype tightend the league is trending towards. And with his pass catching ability, he'd be a dangerous weapon on the Z role. If not Musgrave, if they can find another quality receiving tight end with that size and speed combo, they should jump on it, even if they are a little more on the raw side.
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