As the Kansas City Chiefs made one of the more high-profile signings in the first few days of this year's NFL free agency period back in March, inking reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to a three-year, $43.05 million deal, it went a little bit under the radar that same week when they opted to bring back wide receiver Tyquan Thornton on a new two-year deal worth up to $11 million, with $7.4 million in guaranteed money.
That may seem like a lot for a guy who caught just 19 passes this past year, which represents nearly a third of his career total, as he only tallied 39 grabs during his two-and-a-half-year run with the New England Patriots.
But Thornton certainly made the most of those 19 catches, which we'll break down in more detail momentarily, and if Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy utilize the Miami native correctly, he could conceivably have a monster year for Kansas City in 2026, which naturally means he could conceivably have a monster year for fantasy football managers as well.
Tyquan Thornton averaged 23.1 yards per reception for the Chiefs in 2025
As we're sure you noticed, what we failed to mention above is that Thornton's 19 catches went for 438 yards, thus giving him an average of 23.1 yards per reception.
Now, with such a low number of receptions, he failed to meet the minimum requirement to qualify as a league leader. But if one were to take that minimum out of play and include every player this past year who at least hit double-digit receptions, Thornton would have led the entire NFL in yards per reception. Using our system, the man who officially took the YPC title in 2025, that being the Indianapolis Colts' Alec Pierce (21.3), would have finished second.
And how's this for a wild stat? Per Ian Hartitz of Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life, Thornton had six receptions on targets thrown 30-plus yards downfield in 2025, giving him more than the Chiefs' top two receivers on the depth chart, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, have in their entire careers combined (four).
So, the big-play potential obviously exists, which makes Thornton's usage this past season all the more baffling.
In the Chiefs' first seven games of the 2025 campaign, the 2022 second-round pick was targeted 27 times, catching 14 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. So, simple math tells us that he only caught five passes for 127 yards the rest of the way, none of which went for scores. One did go for 61 yards against the Denver Broncos, however, that helped set up a touchdown that tied the game at 13-13 before Kansas City ultimately fell 22-19.
It needs to be noted, of course, that one of the reasons Thornton was targeted so often early was because Rice was serving his six-game suspension. But just because Rice returned means Thornton just no longer exists? Yeah, it was a bit baffling, and those fantasy football managers who picked Thornton up in the early weeks couldn't have been happy about it.
As far as the upcoming season is concerned, Thornton made it crystal clear earlier this offseason that he's looking for more targets, and with Hollywood Brown out of the picture, that should become a reality, as the Chiefs didn't hit the receiver market as hard as some thought they might.
And with Hartitz noting that Thornton has a WR95 ADP, those prepping for their fantasy drafts may want to take a long look at what he could add to your lineup if the Chiefs handle him correctly in 2026.
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