The Kansas City Chiefs had problems getting enough production in their passing game last season. They faced injuries to their wide receivers early in the season, but even when they were fully healthy, the wide receiver production just wasn’t good enough. One of the most frustrating parts of that lack of production was that KC refused to use one of their most productive wideouts, Tyquan Thornton.
Thornton was a former second-round bust for the New England Patriots who signed onto KC’s practice squad late in the 2024 season. Thornton was another in a long line of fllyers that Brett Veach has taken on former high draft picks. After a solid training camp, Thornton was thrust into a starting role early in the season when KC’s wide receiver group was decimated by injuries (and Rashee Rice’s suspension). Thornton responded by putting up 13 receptions for 272 yards and three touchdowns in KC’s first five games.
That put him on pace for 44 receptions, 925 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Those would be fantastic numbers for a deep-threat weapon at wide receiver. Thornton looked too good to bench. Unfortunately, his usage came to a screeching halt as KC got more of their “starting” receivers back. In the remaining nine games that Thornton played, he had just six more receptions for 166 yards and no touchdowns. That usage would make sense if KC’s other wideouts were matching or surpassing his production, but that simply wasn’t the case.
It would be wise for KC to re-sign Tyquan Thornton and give him a larger role next year.
Here is a list of KC’s top five receivers in offensive snaps played and receiving yards. Take a look at these ratios.
Offensive snaps versus receiving yards in 2025
- Xavier Worthy - 645 snaps played / 532 yards receiving
- Juju Smith-Schuster - 620 snaps played / 345 yards receiving
- Hollywood Brown - 551 snaps played / 587 yards receiving
- Rashee Rice - 415 snaps played / 571 yards receiving
- Tyquan Thornton - 368 snaps played / 438 yards receiving
In case you’re wondering if the Chiefs using players on running plays skews those efficiency numbers, the results are pretty much the same when you look at KC’s yards per route run numbers from last season.
Yards per route in 2025
- Rashee Rice - 2.16
- Tyquan Thornton - 1.70
- Hollywood Brown - 1.49
- Xavier Worthy - 1.26
- Juju Smith-Schuster - 0.89
For some context, other wideouts who averaged close to 1.7 yards per route run last season include Emeka Egbuka, Garrett Wilson, Romeo Doubs, and Khalil Shakir. Meanwhile, other wideouts who played regularly and averaged around Xavier Worthy’s 1.26 YPRR include Keon Coleman, Josh Palmer, Darius Slayton, and Pat Bryant. Ironically, Skyy Moore also averaged 1.26 YPRR on limited offensive snaps with the 49ers last season.
On a team where they struggled to get wide receiver production outside of Rashee Rice and struggled to create big plays down the field, it is inexcusable that they kept Thornton on the sideline while giving Kansas City's two least efficient wideouts (Worthy and Smith-Schuster) each over 600 offensive snaps. It makes zero sense. Just look at these yards per reception numbers.
Yards per reception in 2025
- Tyquan Thornton - 23.1
- Xavier Worthy - 12.7
- Hollywood Brown - 12.0
- Rashee Rice - 10.8
- JuJu Smith-Schuster - 10.5
The Chiefs needed more consistent production and more big plays from their wideouts last season, and the one player outside of Rashee Rice who flashed that ability when given the chance was Tyquan Thornton. The Chiefs need to hope that his struggles in New England and his limited playing time this season keep his free agency demands low so they can re-sign him to a team-friendly deal before he hits the open market. Brett Veach should be on that immediately.
Thornton showed that he deserves a bigger role than what Kansas City gave him last season. He also showed that he can give the Chiefs what they desperately need in a true deep threat, one with the size, deep speed, and ball-tracking skills to make plays down the field. That is why they must re-sign him and learn from their mistakes by actually using him next season. He certainly doesn’t need to be their top wideout or even an every-down player, but he should be a regular part of their rotation who can stretch the field and open things up for the other receivers.