Dont'e Thornton Sees Fantasy Football Value Spike Following Amari Cooper Retirement
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There have been Dont’e Thornton Jr. truthers ever since he arrived in Las Vegas for rookie mini-camp, and as the offseason has rolled along, the buzz behind the 2025 fourth-round pick has continued to grow. Even more fuel to fire has been added to Thornton's hype train, with the recent retirement of veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on X that Cooper let the team know that he no longer had a desire to play and planned to retire. With that news, it opens up opportunities across the roster with Thornton being a prime candidate for said opportunities.
Comeback no more: #Raiders WR Amari Cooper has informed the team that he no longer has the desire to play and intends to retire, per The Insiders.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 4, 2025
Cooper had signed at the end of camp in a hopeful reunion with the team that drafted. Now, he’s headed home from Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/jEZHPHBPBq
Dont'e Thornton Jr. Fantasy Evaluation
Dont’e Thornton Jr. in college by no means had jaw-dropping stats. For the University of Tennessee last season, he had 26 receptions for 661 yards. This was not the main thing NFL scouts viewed when evaluating Thornton Jr. for the 2025 NFL Draft; it was his measurables.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. with a 4.30U!
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) March 1, 2025
HE'S 6'5 by the way! 🤯
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/sSLmT3iqq0
Along with a posted 4.30 time at the NFL Combine, Thornton Jr. stands at a height of 6’5”. He has a build and skillset that no one else in the Raiders receiving corps can really offer. Even with Las Vegas drafting WR Jack Bech from TCU at No.58 overall, before initially taking Thornton Jr., the rookie from Tennessee was listed as a starting receiver, while Bech was not. Bech is currently listed as the back up slot receiver behind Tre Tucker.
NFL Comparison of Dont'e Thornton Jr.
One receiver that immediately comes to mind as a comparison for Thornton Jr. is former second-round receiver out of the University of Ole Miss, DK Metcalf. The now Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has extremely similar measurables to Thornton. He stands at 6’4” and ran a 4.33 at the NFL Combine. On top of that, in his final season for the Rebels, Metcalf put up eerily similar stats to Thornton in his season before getting drafted. In that season he had 26 receptions for 569 yards.
In Metcalf's rookie season for the Seattle Seahawks, he had 58 receptions for 900 yards. Thornton definitely has the potential to put up something similar in his first NFL season. He should be seen as an early trade target in fantasy, as well as an immediate add off of waivers if still available. On ESPN on Sept. 4, he was rostered by under eight percent of leagues; on Sept 5, he is now rostered by nearly 12% of leagues.
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Gray Deyo is a Nashville-based sportswriter who graduated with a sports management bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has covered prep sports, college sports, the WNBA, and the NBA for the past four years. In addition to writing for SI, Gray also currently contributes to Prep Girls Hoops