Who Should I Start? DeMario Douglas or Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Tuesday, July 29, 8:35 PM

DeMario Douglas has been the New England Patriots' "most consistent" wide receiver in training camp, according to Paul Perillo of Patriots.com. After hauling in 66 passes on 87 targets for 621 yards and three touchdowns in 2024, the 24-year-old Douglas has continued to develop a rapport with quarterback Drake Maye this summer. With Maye likely to take a leap forward this season under new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Douglas should be among the beneficiaries. Slot receivers have been known to thrive under McDaniels, who got the best out of Julian Edelman, Wes Welker, Danny Amendola, and Jakobi Meyers in the past, which bodes well for Douglas.

Wednesday, July 23, 8:30 PM

Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. continued to get first-team reps when the offense was in 11 personnel at training camp practice on Wednesday, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. Quarterback Geno Smith did throw a deep ball to Thornton, but it was broken up. Thornton, not second-rounder Jack Bech, has been getting reps with the first-team offense since the spring, so he could be a valuable deep threat with his speed for Smith in his first year in the NFL. Jakobi Meyers is the Raiders' WR1 entering the season, so there is plenty of opportunity for Thornton if he continues to impress the coaching staff and gain chemistry with Smith. Tre Tucker will be Thornton's primary competition for targets. At best, Thornton might be a boom/bust flex option for fantasy managers in deeper formats.