They say you only get one chance to make your dreams come true. But that isn’t always true. Sometimes you get a second chance — or even a third. It’s just that you never know how many opportunities you’re going to get — so each one must be treated as if it’s your last.
That’s a lesson that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton has learned all too well.
Coming out of Baylor in 2022, his draft stock shot through the roof when he recorded an official 4.28 time for the 40-yard dash at the NFL
Scouting Combine. (Unofficially, Thornton had run a record-setting 4.21). That led the New England Patriots to select him 50th overall in the draft’s second round.
But Thornton broke his collarbone in a preseason game, causing him to miss the first four games of his rookie season. The following year, he reinjured the same shoulder, missing four more games on New England’s Reserve/Injured list. After he accumulated just 47 yards from four catches in six 2024 games, the Patriots waived him after Week 10.
Being cut by the Patriots might have been the best thing that ever happened to Thornton. During his three years in New England, the team had six different starting quarterbacks and two head coaches — and if he had stayed, Thornton would have had his third head coach in 2025.
But instead, he spent the rest of 2024 on the Kansas City practice squad — partly because general manager Brett Veach had liked what he’d seen of Thornton at Baylor. And then there was an endorsement from one of head coach Andy Reid’s good friends.
“Bill Belichick called me and talked to me about him,” revealed Reid earlier this week. “[He] thought that he was a good football player. Brett was bringing him in — and Bill said, ‘Hey, this guy’s really got great potential.’”
That was in November. By the end of May, it was becoming clear that Thornton was in the Chiefs’ plans for 2025.
On Thursday, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy declared that Thornton has been ready “the whole entire time” he’s been in Kansas City. The 38-yard catch he made in Friday’s season opener was simply the latest indicator.
“We have guys, they’re on our roster for a reason — and they’ve done a great job,” said Nagy. “So now they get their opportunity to show who they are — and I think the biggest thing is the trust. We’ve got to keep working that trust — and then when you get an opportunity, you make a play. Tyquan did that on that one corner route. You know he made a great play with the ball in the air. We want to keep that going.”
Thornton is likely to get more opportunities to build trust with quarterback Patrick Mahomes this Sunday, as the Chiefs go into their matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles without wide receivers Rashee Rice and Jalen Royals — and almost certainly without Xavier Worthy, who has been listed as doubtful for the game.
Thornton is also building trust with special teams coordinator Dave Toub.
“[He’s] somebody that hits it fast,” said Toub as the season was getting underway. “He’s got great speed. He’s a willing blocker, so that’s important. I talked about that before: how important [it is] for that off returner to be able to single-block somebody. He’s going to have to block somebody.”
And sometimes, others are blocking for Thornton. In the Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, he returned the opening kickoff to the 48-yard line. Only a penalty on Joshua Williams kept it from being one of the game’s significant moments.
Fellow wideout Juju Smith-Schuster — a teammate of Thornton’s in New England — isn’t surprised by what he’s seeing.
“He’s a guy that just hooks it all in, you know, wherever he is needed at,” the wide receiver told reporters on Friday. “He does his best. He plays hard. He plays fast.”
But if you ask Thornton, he’ll say he’s just holding up his end of his bargain with Mahomes.
“He’s going to do his job” Thornton said of his quarterback during training camp in St. Joseph. “If I go out there and run fast, he is going to put it where it’s supposed to be. I’ve just got to make a play.”
They say that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Or as Thornton might put it, when life gives you lemons, you work your butt off to make another 53-man roster.
