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2022 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch: Oklahoma vs. Baylor

By Andrew Fischer

Oct 16, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Nik Bonitto (11) in action during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Nik Bonitto (11) in action during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 9, 2021; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (9) in action during the game between the Baylor Bears and the West Virginia Mountaineers at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2021; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (9) in action during the game between the Baylor Bears and the West Virginia Mountaineers at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Baylor WR Tyquan Thornton

A long and lanky receiver, Tyquan Thornton has been having a breakout season that’s captured the attention of 2022 NFL Draft scouts. He is leading the Big 12 in receiving yards with 722, is 2nd in the conference with seven receiving touchdowns, and he’s 4th in the Big 12 with 17.2 yards per catch.

The 6’3” 182-pound Miami, Florida, native was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. In his prep career, Tyquan Thornton played a little quarterback and ran the 100 and 200-meter dashes for his school’s track team.

Like the aforementioned Abram Smith, this is Tyquan Thornton’s breakout year. He has nearly matched his numbers from 2019 in four fewer games, and he seems to be getting better as the year goes along, as he posted two of his best games in the last month.

Thornton can stretch the field both vertically and horizontally. Baylor likes to use him on shallow crossing patterns and double moves to get him free deep down the field. He’s a dangerous player in space, and his speed means that defenders have to account for the threat of him going deep.

Being 6’3” with long arms means that Tyquan Thornton has a large catch radius, and on film I saw him use every inch of that frame to go up and snare the ball at its highest point multiple times. However, most of those catches were when he was wide open, and no defenders were near him. He’ll have to show that he can make contested catches consistently against NFL defensive backs.

The biggest knock ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thornton would likely be his weight, as most receivers that are his height would weigh at least 20 pounds more than he does. An encouraging sign for Tyquan Thornton was that he weighed a wispy 165 pounds coming out of high school, and he’s gradually added weight since then, tipping the scales at 182 now. This means that he could continue to bulk up slowly with the hope that he won’t lose much or any of his trademark speed.

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