Heading into the Las Vegas Raiders' preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks, rookie wide receiver Donte' Thornton Jr. was considered a player to watch. Fans were wondering how much he would play with the first team, and if he could translate his training camp buzz to a game setting.
Thornton had only one catch for 17 yards on three targets against Seattle. One of the failures to connect was a rough-looking drop on a back shoulder throw from Geno Smith during the Raiders' first offensive series, but he did make the proper adjustment and get his feet in bounds.
The other incompletion resulted in an interception due to a brutal underthrow on a downfield pass by Aidan O'Connell. Thornton clearly won his 1-on-1 matchup, and with a good throw, he would have walked into the end zone.
Raiders' Dont'e Thornton Jr. is a legit fantasy football sleeper in 2025
He did make one nice catch during the preseason opener against the Seahawks, which was a grab from O'Connell along the sideline to move the chains on third-and-long.
DONTE THORNTON WITH THE SNAGGGG
— Football Fanatics (@FFB_Fanatics) August 8, 2025
THE RAIDERS WR IS SHOWING OUT pic.twitter.com/Yie4zehHOE
Fortunately for Thornton, Smith is a great downfield passer, and Pro Football Focus grades in recent years back that up. Thornton's unique blend of size and speed will be put to better use when the Raiders are playing the first-team offense in games that count.
After playing just 12 of the Raiders' 67 offensive plays against Seattle, it is clear that what Thornton does in the remaining two preseason games will not necessarily be a true indicator of what he's capable of doing during his rookie season.
With how open the Raiders' wide receiver pecking order is after Jakobi Meyers, Thornton and fellow rookie Jack Bech have been somewhere on the fantasy football radar since they were drafted. Depending on the league, one of these players may make more sense than the other.
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Andrew Ites of Pro Football Focus recently honed in on some rookie fantasy sleepers to target in 2025 drafts, categorized by how he feels they will perform in comparison to their current average draft position.
Thornton was highlighted as a player who may be selected somewhere after pick 200. After noting that he has outshone Bech and has been working with the No. 1 offense in training camp, Ites dove into Thornton's sheer potential if he earns a big immediate role.
"If the Tennessee product earns that role when Week 1 rolls around, it will be his first experience as a full-time player in a long while after topping out at 365 snaps in a season during his four-year college career," Ites wrote. "On those limited snaps, the speedy wideout did record an 80.6 PFF receiving grade last year and turned 29 receptions into 750 yards with an absurd 4.01 yards per route run and 25.9 yards per reception. ... If you’re looking for a dart throw at wide receiver with your final pick, you could do much worse than Thornton."
Given current projections, Thornton may not even be drafted at all in certain leagues, but he should be put on waiver wire watch lists heading into the season. Even after an uneven preseason opener, he remains a pretty interesting deep sleeper.