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Former Oregon Ducks WR Dont'e Thornton Jr. catches touchdown in Raiders' preseason finale
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- Former Oregon Ducks WR Dont'e Thornton Jr. catches touchdown in Raiders' preseason finale
Dont'e Thornton Jr. , a four-star wide receiver recruit in the 2021 class who committed to the Oregon Ducks , only spent two seasons in Eugene before transferring to Tennessee .
In those two seasons with the Ducks , Thornton totaled 26 catches for 541 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
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He broke out with the Volunteers during his senior season, finishing with 26 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns — good for an eye-popping 25.4 yards per reception.
Thornton, while possessing elite size at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, recorded a blazing 4.30-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine. Despite not reaching over 700 yards in a single season at the college level and spending time with two different programs, his elite measurables and immense potential led the Las Vegas Raiders to select him in the fourth round at 108th overall.
After going through rookie minicamp and finishing the latter parts of training camp, Thornton is coming into his own in Las Vegas . He's widely expected to be the starting wide out opposite veteran Jakobi Meyers .
In the Raiders' final preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night, Thornton, in limited time with the first-team offense, finished with two catches for 26 yards, including a beautiful back-shoulder touchdown grab from starting quarterback Geno Smith — potentially a sign of what's to come in the regular season.
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Though Thornton didn't reach his full potential in Eugene, he's still a former Duck to get behind and support as his career progresses.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Former Oregon Ducks WR Dont'e Thornton Jr. impressing with Raiders
