Week 12 check-in:
Thornton: 8/86/1TD (7 games)
27%, 37% snap percentage over the last two games after peaking at 85% versus the Bears. 2 catches for 10 yards in November.
Other second-rounders:
Watson(#34): 22/353/6 (9 games)
Robinson(#43): 23/227/1 (6 games)
Pickens(#52): 33/453/2 (10 games)
Pierce(#53): 28/424/1 (10 games)
Moore(#54): 17/205/0 (11 games) (10 catches / 99 yards in his last two games a.k.a. more production the TT's whole season)
James Cook(#63)RB: 9/110/0 (11 games)
This is discouraging after the complete failure that was the N'Keal Harry era. It's nothing to panic about, but my lord, it would be nice to see him build some sort of positive momentum on the field.
Those other 2nd round WRs would be 4th, 6th, 2nd, 2nd, and 7th in yards and 5th, 3rd (3-way tie), 3rd, 3rd, and 8th in catches among the team. Watson and Robinson were already off the board when Thornton was picked, but the point still stands.
2nd rounders do have a fairly high bust rate. I think the characterization of this pick being a home run swing is accurate, and sometimes those turn into swing-and-miss, which would be unfortunate. Unclear how much his training camp injury set him back; would not expect a broken collarbone to linger, but he lost valuable development time as well.