How Tyquan Thornton went from castoff to Chiefs savior vs. Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tyquan Thornton held a lemon lime Gatorade in one hand and scrolled his phone with the other, leaning against the wall of a small corridor when his head snapped upward.

This was minutes after the Kansas City Chiefs’ 22-9 road victory over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night, and the Chiefs receiver was waiting for his turn at the postgame news conference when he heard his name in the distance.

It was the voice of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes speaking to the media. And Thornton was close enough to hear exactly what his QB said when asked about him.

“I knew he was going to be a good football player,” Mahomes said of Thornton, “but he’s even exceeding my expectations.”

The Chiefs avoided catastrophe on a cool night at the Meadowlands. After starting 0-2, they stabilized things on “Sunday Night Football” in the type of gotta-have-it scenario they don’t typically face until January.

And one of the biggest reasons the season ship remains afloat?

That would be the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Thornton, who delivered the team’s most consequential play midway through the fourth quarter.

Right before signaling to the sideline — and the world — that the Chiefs, in fact, were going to be just fine.

A quick recap: The Chiefs led by seven while facing third-and-10 at the Giants’ 34. A field goal was no sure thing, either, considering Harrison Butker had already missed his third kick of the young season.

So when Mahomes rolled right, then delivered a deep throw back toward Thornton to his left, it loomed as one of the game’s most significant moments.

Thornton, who had failed to secure a deep pass on the previous play, focused all the way through on this one. He contorted his body around cornerback Dru Phillips’ tight coverage, then cradled the ball into his body before lifting a single finger into the air.

The meaning of that? Thornton said it was a signal he’d learned in high school; the point was to tell everyone on the sideline — before the officials even had said anything — that he’d come down with the ball cleanly.

“Once you see the hand up, it lets you know,” Thornton said with a smile. “You can breathe a little bit.”

Chiefs fans watching indeed exhaled right after the moment.

Thornton’s reception (with only a 15.7 percent catch probability, according to NFL Next Gen Stats) went for a 33-yard gain down to the Giants’ 1-yard line. It set up a Kareem Hunt touchdown run.

Suddenly, the Chiefs had a commanding two-score lead, thanks mainly to Thornton’s individual effort — a grab that added 3.8 expected points according to the advanced stats calculator at rbsdm.com, making it the Chiefs’ most significant play of the game.

“A cool moment, for sure,” punter Matt Araiza said.

“It was phenomenal,” tight end Noah Gray added.

“He’s stepping up,” Mahomes said, “whenever the opportunity has been provided for him.”

And it’s worth rewinding — a few months and a few weeks — to trace just how far Thornton has come to put himself in this position.

The New England Patriots released the 2022 second-round pick in November. Kansas City signed him to the practice squad that month, but Thornton wasn’t elevated to the active roster for any game last season.

“I think a lot of guys in that position, when you’re practice squad, you maybe start to think, ‘Well, maybe that’s just what I am,’ ” Araiza said. “And he knew he was better than that.”

At the time, Thornton said he just kept believing the player he knew he was. Though life can get hard, he said he knew he had to keep working.

Even following offseason improvements — and after he increased chemistry with Mahomes while not missing a rep in the spring or summer — Thornton remained a long shot to produce like this.

The best indication of that?

Less than a month ago — when Chiefs top receiver Rashee Rice had yet to be suspended by the NFL — Thornton was still working with the Chiefs as a special teams gunner. That meant he was working to fill in whatever gaps the Chiefs might’ve needed from him while hoping to serve as the team’s fifth or sixth receiver.

Throw those numbers out now. With Rice and Xavier Worthy (shoulder injury) not available Sunday night, Thornton was the team’s clear WR1 for a night while producing five catches for 71 yards with a touchdown.

“He’s showing some things,” Reid said.

And doing so with the support of a considerable group of teammates around him.

In the locker room Sunday night, teammates lauded Thornton for his attitude — and his non-stop smile. They appreciate his great comedic timing, and that’s even with the acknowledgment that it took them a few months to understand his brand of humor.

“Willing to hop in, do whatever he can,” Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams said. “Now he’s balling.”

Williams not only got to know Thornton as a fellow gunner; he also went up against him during 11-on-11s as a cornerback in training camp.

The thing Williams remembers most? Thornton was continually testing the defense with a different type of throw than they’d had to go against in years past: the “deep, deep routes.”

“It’s no surprise to anybody on the defense,” Williams said, “that this is happening.”

For his part, Thornton told the media afterward he sees this as a small stepping stone for his career.

When he first joined the Chiefs last year, they practiced with a speed and intensity he hoped he could one day match. He used his opportunity then to try to make himself just a little bit better.

“Every day was like the Super Bowl for me,” Thornton said.

Now, he’s producing in real moments, in big games, and in instances when the Chiefs need him the absolute most.

It led to a fun final few minutes on the sideline. Tight end Travis Kelce found Thornton to congratulate him, right before Araiza made his way over.

Before Araiza hugged Thornton, he had to give him some grief. He looked at him, smiled, then gave the motion he knew would make him laugh.

After a pause, Araiza lifted his finger toward the sky.

“He’s a great guy,” Araiza said, “so I love to see him having success.”

(Top photo: Elsa / Getty Images)

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