Those around Patriots 2nd-round WR Tyquan Thornton say he has showed impressive growth through his 1st training camp. "He's gotten better every single time he's stepped on the field," WRs coach Ross Douglas told ESPN's Mike Reiss. "He truly has a lot of gifts. It's not just his speed. His ability to change direction, ball skills. He has a good attitude and the guys in the room have embraced him. His development will be key and we'll get him there." Reiss adds that Thornton has been primarily working behind WRs Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, and that those 4 appear "locked in atop the depth chart." We're not betting on a big fantasy football return from Thornton in his rookie season. We'll see, though, whether he can buck the lackluster trend of early-round WRs under Bill Belichick over the next few years.

Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton (knee) is active for today’s game vs. the Dolphins. He’s only worth considering in DFS tournaments.

The Patriots activated WR Tyquan Thornton (collarbone) from IR. The rookie broke his collarbone in mid-August and just returned to practice this week. Don't expect him to play a big role in Sunday's game vs. the Lions, but we'll keep an eye on his development.

The Patriots designated WR Tyquan Thornton (collarbone) to return from IR. The rookie broke his collarbone in mid-August and was expected to miss a couple of months. Thornton might be ready to go in the next week or 2, but we wouldn't bother adding him to redraft rosters at this point.

The Patriots placed WR Tyquan Thornton (collarbone) on IR, knocking him out for at least the first 4 games of the season. It's a procedural move with Thornton expected to be sidelined until mid-October. The rookie could make an impact in the 2nd half of the season, but he's not worth stashing on redraft benches.

Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton is expected to miss about 8 weeks with the collarbone injury he suffered in Friday's preseason game, according to NFL Network's Mike Giardi. That'd put Thornton back sometime around Week 6 or 7. It'll likely be another few weeks beyond that before Thornton has any chance of being a real fantasy factor. The rookie can be left on the waiver wire in all redraft leagues.