Dont'e Thornton named a starter for the Raiders

#1
sami

sami

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#1
Looks like this kid has a shot at being the next stud UT WR in the NFL. He has all the tools, but because of injury and Nico's inability to get the ball down the field was never close to reaching his potential here.

allfortennessee.com

Former Tennessee star earns NFL starting spot ahead of rookie preseason debut

It didn't take long for Dont'e Thornton to leave his mark on the Las Vegas Raiders' coaching staff. The NFL rookie has already secured his spot in the starting
allfortennessee.com allfortennessee.com

 
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#7
#7
sami said:
Looks like this kid has a shot at being the next stud UT WR in the NFL. He has all the tools, but because of injury and Nico's inability to get the ball down the field was never close to reaching his potential here.

allfortennessee.com

Former Tennessee star earns NFL starting spot ahead of rookie preseason debut

It didn't take long for Dont'e Thornton to leave his mark on the Las Vegas Raiders' coaching staff. The NFL rookie has already secured his spot in the starting
allfortennessee.com allfortennessee.com

Click to expand...

If this kid is suddenly able to stay healthy in the NFL, it will lend more credence to my suspicions about him.
 
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#8
#8
sami said:
Looks like this kid has a shot at being the next stud UT WR in the NFL. He has all the tools, but because of injury and Nico's inability to get the ball down the field was never close to reaching his potential here.

allfortennessee.com

Former Tennessee star earns NFL starting spot ahead of rookie preseason debut

It didn't take long for Dont'e Thornton to leave his mark on the Las Vegas Raiders' coaching staff. The NFL rookie has already secured his spot in the starting
allfortennessee.com allfortennessee.com

Click to expand...

I'd suggest it was more his being injury prone than Nico although if he had a QB who could have gotten him the ball consistently, he might have played through some of those nagging bumps and bruises. But when you know you're not getting the ball, he likely thought why bother or risk it? Might this be happening now? I wonder how enthused some of our WRs are with our current QB room? Let's be honest, not many teams would trade rooms with us right now. Kinda makes you wonder.
 
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#10
#10
sami said:
Looks like this kid has a shot at being the next stud UT WR in the NFL. He has all the tools, but because of injury and Nico's inability to get the ball down the field was never close to reaching his potential here.

allfortennessee.com

Former Tennessee star earns NFL starting spot ahead of rookie preseason debut

It didn't take long for Dont'e Thornton to leave his mark on the Las Vegas Raiders' coaching staff. The NFL rookie has already secured his spot in the starting
allfortennessee.com allfortennessee.com

Click to expand...

Josh Heupel's offense doesn't develop WR's.
 
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#11
#11
Oldvoldad said:
Josh Heupel's offense doesn't develop WR's.
Click to expand...
Remember this?

'Dont'e Thornton has acknowledged that his route tree at Tennessee was limited due to the team's offensive scheme, which primarily focused on vertical routes and a fast-paced, up-tempo style. He noted that NFL teams expressed some hesitation about his route running ability during the draft process due to this limitation. However, Thornton also highlighted that his film from Oregon demonstrates a more extensive route tree, and he's working to expand his skillset in the NFL.'
I guess being able to start as a rookie in the NFL can be attributed to his time at Oregon.
 
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#12
#12
CAVPUT said:
I'd suggest it was more his being injury prone than Nico although if he had a QB who could have gotten him the ball consistently, he might have played through some of those nagging bumps and bruises. But when you know you're not getting the ball, he likely thought why bother or risk it? Might this be happening now? I wonder how enthused some of our WRs are with our current QB room? Let's be honest, not many teams would trade rooms with us right now. Kinda makes you wonder.
Click to expand...
Our QB room has a high 4 star and FR 5 star ā€¦ nope no one would trade for that.
 
#15
#15
DonDiego said:
Remember this?

'Dont'e Thornton has acknowledged that his route tree at Tennessee was limited due to the team's offensive scheme, which primarily focused on vertical routes and a fast-paced, up-tempo style. He noted that NFL teams expressed some hesitation about his route running ability during the draft process due to this limitation. However, Thornton also highlighted that his film from Oregon demonstrates a more extensive route tree, and he's working to expand his skillset in the NFL.'
I guess being able to start as a rookie in the NFL can be attributed to his time at Oregon.
Click to expand...
Limited due to team's offensive scheme? He was limited in 23 due to a nagging hamstring injury then later with a broken ankle, not the scheme. In 24 the route tree probably was limited with the FR QB...what was that guy's name again? Never mind don't care.
 
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#16
#16
sami said:
Looks like this kid has a shot at being the next stud UT WR in the NFL. He has all the tools, but because of injury and Nico's inability to get the ball down the field was never close to reaching his potential here.

allfortennessee.com

Former Tennessee star earns NFL starting spot ahead of rookie preseason debut

It didn't take long for Dont'e Thornton to leave his mark on the Las Vegas Raiders' coaching staff. The NFL rookie has already secured his spot in the starting
allfortennessee.com allfortennessee.com

Click to expand...

Could have been play calling too.
 
#18
#18
WillisWG said:
Limited due to team's offensive scheme? He was limited in 23 due to a nagging hamstring injury then later with a broken ankle, not the scheme. In 24 the route tree probably was limited with the FR QB...what was that guy's name again? Never mind don't care.
Click to expand...
It was limited to a 3 limb tree because in reality at 6ā€™5 and 4.3, he doesnā€™t have great footwork, rounded routes he needed to cut hard on and not explosive out of that cut to creat separation. ins, outs, drags..no good if you donā€™t run them right and quick cuts.
I would expect that information to be in an in depth scouting report on him. Maybe it gets better in nfl. Speed is there. Teams wonā€™t be playing any 3 deep for most of the game.
But I donā€™t blame coaches if a 22 yr old wr canā€™t run a couple routes the right way.
We used him to his strengths and got his ypc as elite. Needs to not say anything else about what we donā€™t teach. Ainā€™t no wr coaches teaching to round out routes with no explosiveness in the same route.
 
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#19
#19
Love Donte, but he won't make a full season in the NFL, too injury prone, and that's what limited him at Tenn, not the route tree. He never ran one slant at UT because of that.
 
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#20
#20
This is what concerns me about modern play. There is such hesitancy on the part of players ā€œto give their all for Tennā€ due to the money opportunity in the NFL. Unless theyā€™re in their last year and not really known, players tend to play conservative. Old schoolers like me remember players like Al Wilson playing in a freakin cast.
 
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#21
#21
Volle said:
Love Donte, but he won't make a full season in the NFL, too injury prone, and that's what limited him at Tenn, not the route tree. He never ran one slant at UT because of that.
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But now he's getting paid handsomely. That changes a players outlook and motivation. Honestly, I think he was killing time at UT. He didn't care one way or the other about how the season went. His eyes were always on the NFL. No way he played through even the smallest injury. Just didn't mean anything to him. Know that sounds harsh, but I truly believe he was killing time until the NFL opportunity presented.
 
#22
#22
utvols74 said:
This is what concerns me about modern play. There is such hesitancy on the part of players ā€œto give their all for Tennā€ due to the money opportunity in the NFL. Unless theyā€™re in their last year and not really known, players tend to play conservative. Old schoolers like me remember players like Al Wilson playing in a freakin cast.
Click to expand...
Exactly!
 
#25
#25
DonDiego said:
Remember this?

'Dont'e Thornton has acknowledged that his route tree at Tennessee was limited due to the team's offensive scheme, which primarily focused on vertical routes and a fast-paced, up-tempo style. He noted that NFL teams expressed some hesitation about his route running ability during the draft process due to this limitation. However, Thornton also highlighted that his film from Oregon demonstrates a more extensive route tree, and he's working to expand his skillset in the NFL.'
I guess being able to start as a rookie in the NFL can be attributed to his time at Oregon.
Click to expand...
Or maybe, and most likely, he's smart enough and talented enough to learn his NFL route treešŸ˜Æ
 
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