Former Tennessee football standout Dont'e Thornton was a fourth-round draft pick, with the Las Vegas Raiders selecting him with the 108th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Since then, he has been going to work and has already started to impress people around the Raiders franchise. The hype is starting to build around Thornton as Raiders.com writer Levi Edwards described him on X as "one of, if not the most impressive rookie" this summer.
He has also previously listed Thornton as one of two rookies who impressed early in the summer, with Ashton Jeanty as the other impressive rookie.
"Dont'e Thornton Jr. has seen a lot of reps at outside receiver opposite of Tre Tucker and Jakobi Meyers," Edwards writes on Raiders.com. "[Thornton] was a constant target for Geno Smith throughout practice, reeling in a highly contested catch in the end zone during red zone period."
Thornton was on Rocky Top for two seasons, so he didn't have the opportunity to flourish as much as he would have liked. Year one was mostly spent on the sidelines watching and learning the system.
In his senior season, he finished his Tennessee career with a career-best 661 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Thornton led the SEC in yards per reception with a 25.4 average.
Thornton always seemed to be in the right spot at the right time in his senior season, allowing freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava to find him down the field.
He will have the opportunity to contribute consistently to the Raiders' offense in the same way he contributed consistently to Tennessee's offense, and it looks like he's off to a great start as a key contributor in Las Vegas.