We are a month away from NFL free agency, and the players most excited are those who hit career-high marks in the 2025 season, boosting their value just before hitting the open market.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton certainly fits that bill. In 2025, Thornton totaled 438 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 23.1 yards per reception as the team’s fourth or fifth receiver all season. It’s an incredible reversal from the 2024 season with the New England Patriots: Thornton caught four passes before being cut in November, allowing Kansas City to sign him to the practice squad.
Clearly, he made the most of his opportunities, and he felt like he would from early on in his time with the Chiefs. Last week on Radio Row with Jason Anderson of 810’s The Zone, he reminisced on the first impressions of practicing with quarterback Patrick Mahomes in December of 2024.
“We would have offensive periods where we were just on air, and they would throw me out there after I learned the playbook,” Thornton said. “Pat would come out there, and I wouldn’t even be the read — I shouldn’t even say that, because you’re always the read when Pat’s out there — but he would just go out there and chuck the ball down the field to see what I had, and I would just run up under it and make the catch. When I started seeing him come to me more often in practice, I was like ‘yeah he likes me.’”
The sudden chemistry was evident to all spectators during last year’s campaign. With the offense struggling to get an impact from deep passes, Thornton felt reliable downfield. On passes thrown 20 or more yards in the air, Thornton led the Chiefs in targets (23), catches (8) and yards (312) according to Pro Football Focus.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 21: Tyquan Thornton #80 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with Travis Kelce #87 against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on September 21, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 21: Tyquan Thornton #80 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with Travis Kelce #87 against the New York Giants during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on September 21, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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A few of those weren’t necessarily the first read. That was something Thornton had to learn quickly about playing with Mahomes.
“When I first got there, they were like, ‘Don’t take any plays off. He’ll test you, he’s looking for you,” Thronton shared. “So one day we were having a jog through, and we were literally jogging, and I’m on the backside post, and he’s rolling to the right, and he just launched it about 30 yards in front of me, and I’m jogging, so I had to pick it up, chased it down, caught the ball.”
“I was like ‘dang, we didn’t even stretch,‘” Thornton laughed.
“I feel like that helped me along the way,” Thornton said later. “Because now, it raised my standards so high, so when I’m out there every time, I expect the ball.”
It wasn’t just the statistics that grew for Thornton once he got to Kansas City. As an individual, Thornton had to reset after being cut as a former second-round pick, 50th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“Going from New England, it didn’t go very well,” Thornton reflected. “Then, signing practice squad, so I had to get it out the mud a bit, grind, get comfortable. I wasn’t comfortable in New England because I never got the chance to get in my groove.”
He nearly entered a familiarly negative mindset during the first few weeks of the Chiefs’ season, but one play during the Week 3 game against the New York Giants may be the turning point of Thornton’s career.
“The Giants play, that was the play,” Thornton began. “Because the play before, I had it, but the ball moved whenever it touched the ground. Right then and there… it kind of felt like New England a bit. I almost got down on myself.”
“I hear the next play… we know they play man, let’s make up for it, and Pat may throw it to me,” Thornton remembered. “So clear it, because when I was with New England, I would make a bad play, then dwell on it, but you have to grow from that. You can’t do the same thing that you were doing in New England. I ran my route, and Pat put it up there, and I was like, ‘I’m going to make this catch, wherever it’s at.‘ Once I did, it was like ‘I’m taking off now, I’m gone, I done grew.‘”
It wasn’t Thornton’s first highlight of the season — he caught a 49-yard touchdown pass in the previous week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles — but it was the most impactful for his confidence and growth as a player.
“He always expects the best from you,” Thornton said of Mahomes. “He knows that I can go out there and make those plays because he’s seen me do it in practice, so I appreciate him for throwing me that pass because I was able to make up for the one before.”
“That definitely was a moment that I showed growth, that was probably my proudest moment,” Thornton declared.
Set for free agency, the wideout expressed a desire to return to the Chiefs, but he also wants to make sure his talents are being utilized properly.
“I would definitely want to be back to Kansas City,” Thornton told Anderson. “But wherever I go, I want to have my fair share of targets, go out there and contribute and play at a high level.”
The Chiefs have the opportunity to negotiate a contract with Thornton before he tests the open market, but he will most likely negotiate with multiple teams to make the most of standing out in a down season for Kansas City.