When the Las Vegas Raiders selected Tennessee wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. in the fourth round of April’s 2025 NFL Draft, the joke in the team’s war room was not lost on primary team owner Mark Davis.
“Mark joked that was the Al Davis pick of this draft,” Raiders director of college scouting Brandon Yeargan said after the conclusion of the draft.
Thornton had all of the traits that the late owner and general manager would have loved, boasting a six-foot-five frame and still managing to run a 4.3-second 40-yard dash during the Combine. However, Davis’s penchant for adding speed sometimes backfired, with Darrius Heyward-Bey coming to mind.