Yahoo Sports NFL on Dont'e Thornton
From the article
Despite overshadowing NFL cornerbacks with his size, Thornton doesn't play like a 6-foot-5 wideout who can outleap and out-physical defenders at the catch point. With his confidence waning last season, Thornton played more like 5-foot-8 teammate Tre Tucker than imposing himself on defenders.
STACKED’s take
Thornton must play to his 6-foot-5 frame and develop route-running skills beyond deep routes.
The source emphasizes that Thornton doesn't play like a 6-foot-5 wideout despite his elite size and speed; with his confidence waning last season, he played more like 5-foot-8 teammate Tre Tucker than imposing himself on defenders. The source states that engraining the belief that he's bigger and faster than defensive backs, playing stronger without getting locked up by cornerbacks, and aggressively outleaping them for the ball in flight is a must-do in Year 2. Additionally, Thornton needs to improve his route running with refined sharper cuts beyond just running fast deep down the field, as Kubiak asks his wide receivers to run a full route tree and Thornton currently runs mostly straight-line deep routes.
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