While still early in the process, Thornton and Porter have garnered the respect of the teammates and coaches quickly. They've both parlayed their abilities and physical traits into first-team reps in mandatory minicamp.
Thornton has already become a top target for Geno Smith, not only using his speed to get vertical down the field, but towering over smaller defenders in the middle of the field and using his acceleration to create separation consistently.
"I think Dont'e is unique in terms of he's just a hair under 6-5 and he ran 4.3. There's not a lot of humans on this planet that do that," Chip Kelly said. "And I think if you had a draw up an outside receiver, you would pick that type of body type, someone that's got length, someone that's got a huge catch radius, but also has speed. Sometimes you can get a big guy like that, but he can't really run, so they can stay with him. So, you add that speed element to him, his ability to sink his hips, his ability to get in and out of cuts."
Porter has been a fixture on the field, especially while practicing red zone situations. He's been drawing high-profile assignments since OTAs, which has included covering Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker on the outside.
"Obviously, the length, that's a positive right there. The speed, that's all stuff that's documented," Patrick Graham said of Porter. "The thing that I see the most like that that sticks out to me is that the combination of his effort and his ability to correct mistakes. So, when you have a rookie player coming in, first time in the NFL, if you can see the effort, him getting on the same page with how we play, our play style, that's a positive there."
While both will have a lot more to prove once pads come on, they've put themselves in a good position to continue earning reps during training camp. Their production up to this point is no surprise to the team that drafted them.
"[I]t's a good looking group, and the idea is to force those guys to play early and make them have to play and to do that well," Pete Carroll said of the rookie class. "You have to ask them to do things they're good at. If you just ask them to try to do everything that a veteran knows, they're going to falter and they're not going to be able to show themselves. But if you do it in a progressive manner that gives them a chance to show. Then by the time we get to mid-season, those guys can be regulars for us."