NFL analyst draws huge comparison for Dont'e Thornton Jr. after stellar 40-yard dash at scouting combine - "Martavis Bryant 2.0"

Dont'e Thornton Jr. made a major impact in his final collegiate season, covering 661 yards and scoring six touchdowns on 26 receptions. And after a stellar Combine showing, one analyst has a fairly lofty analogy.

On Saturday, the wide receiver out of Tennessee via Oregon hit 4.30s in his first attempt at the 40-yard dash - the first player at his position 6'4" or taller to do so since 2003. That led Marcus Mosher, a host of multiple Locked On podcasts and writer for The 33rd Team, to declare him the second coming of another 6'4" wideout:

"This really might be Martavis Bryant 2.0."

Martavis Bryant was a 6-4 wide receiver who ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at the Combine in 2014. He played in just four NFL seasons, three with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although he's been part of offseason and practice squads for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders in the last two seasons, his last NFL appearance came in 2018 with the then-Oakland Raiders.

Thornton's run would be good enough for second-fastest of the day, behind only the 4.29s of Texas' Matthew Golden. The next fastest wideout was Virginia Tech's Jaylin Lane:

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Dont'e Thornton Jr. discusses mental change that helped him post career-bests in 2024

A first look at Dont'e Thornton's season-by-season stats shows someone who was unfortunate in his transition from a Duck to a Volunteer - dipping from 366 yards in 2022 to just 224 in 2023 as he tried to adjust to new schemes before suffering a season-ending injury.

But then there is 2024 - a remarked improvement. When asked about how he was able to do it by the media on Friday, he said that it took changing his mentality and accepting that he would be a team-player, which he described in three goals - "to win, be the best teammate I could, and take advantage of every opportunity I got":

“My first year, I was more personal-driven, like I wanted all my individual accomplishments to be met, and when I didn’t meet those, it affected me in a negative way.”

As for how this new mentality stemmed, he recalled a meeting with his positional coach Kelsey Pope:

“I felt like it was the best thing for me to do because I was putting so much pressure on myself (rather) than knowing that I just had to relax and get back to the reason why I started playing football. Being able to make it team-oriented gives me an opportunity to have everybody else on the team able to help me meet my goals.”

Tennessee's Pro Day is on March 11. Thornton is expected to be one of many players present at the event.