So much of the future of the Las Vegas Raiders seems to be up in the air. This offseason, the team replaced its head coach and quarterback, bringing former Seattle Seahawks duo Pete Carroll and Geno Smith into the fold.
Outside of those two positions and a few other stars like All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers and generational running back prospect Ashton Jeanty, the rest of the depth chart is difficult to parse out.
As the Raiders' rookies report to training camp on Thursday, and the veterans come the following Tuesday, the team might be putting its faith in the wrong player.
Raiders might be making a mistake by starting Dont'e Thornton Jr.
Rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. has been impressive throughout minicamps and OTAs. So impressive, in fact, that he's become the favorite to start at receiver for the Raiders. It's encouraging to see such an impact from a young player, but this may be too much too soon for Thornton Jr.
Coming into this offseason, the Raiders' receiving group was incomplete, to say the least. Bowers and Jakobi Meyers are stars, but Las Vegas didn't have many other pass-catching options on the roster.
After passing on the top receivers in free agency, Las Vegas looked to the draft to fill out the position. They drafted TCU's Jack Bech in the second round and Thornton Jr. from Tennessee in the fourth. They also added Montana State quarterback-turned-slot-receiver Tommy Mellott on Day 3.
Thornton Jr. is what you would get if you built a wide receiver in a lab. He's 6-foot-5 and ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Most coaches would drool over that combination of size and speed.
According to reports, Thornton Jr. has translated his freakish athleticism to production on the practice field. He's building chemistry with Geno Smith and barreling toward earning a starting job.
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But we may need to pump the brakes a bit here. Thornton Jr. brings much-needed dynamism to the Raiders' offense, but he might not be ready for a full-time starting role in the NFL.
At Tennessee, Thornton Jr. was not asked to run a wide variety of routes. He was almost always either pushing the defense vertically or running a hitch.
Even if he plays a similar field-stretching role in the NFL, he'll be asked to do much more than he was in college. Thornton Jr. could be a great rotational receiver, threatening defenses deep when he's on the field, but he's not refined enough to be what the Raiders need right now.
Jack Bech and veteran Collin Johnson are both more suited for a starting job in Week 1. These two receivers play different roles than Thornton Jr., but their usage would be much less predictable. Bech can be moved around formations, contributing both as a blocker and as a receiver.
At least early in the season, he should get the majority of the workload alongside Jakobi Meyers. This position battle could be one to watch throughout training camp.