Raiders get another receiver, selecting Tennessee WR Dont'e Thornton at pick 108, Round 4
The Raiders entered day three with all their major needs addressed. But one major need that needed more than just one addition was wide receiver. The Raiders go after that with their pick at 108 in the fourth round, landing Tennessee WR Dont'e Thornton.
Here is what Dane Brugler said about Thornton in his The Beast Draft Guide:
A two-year starter at Tennessee, Thornton was an outside receiver in head coach Josh Heupel's spread scheme (95.7 percent of his 2024 snaps came outside the numbers). A former top high school recruit, he spent two years at Oregon before transferring to Knoxville, where he was a low-volume target but a big-play ignitor (led the FBS with 25.4 yards per catch in 2024).
A nine-route monster, Thornton has easy speed to quickly stack or eat up cushions, often forcing cornerbacks to get stuck when they underestimate the surface area he can cover with his long, powerful strides. His deep acceleration can make him a decoy and help open the underneath passing game, but his incomplete route tree currently limits what he can do. Overall, Thornton lacks versatility, but his gliding speed and ability to find another gear downfield could make him a big-play threat in a specified vertical role. His value as a prospect will vary from team to team.
Brugler had Thornton as a round 5-6 pick and he was ranked at 161 on the Arif Hasan consensus big board.
Thornton is a towering 6-5, 205 pounder, so he can be the X receiver the Raiders need.
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