The NFL Draft has seen the Las Vegas Raiders snap up Tennessee Vols' wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr., who's coming off a stellar senior year, as a 4th-round pick. WATE reports his selection as the 6th pick of the round, marking the 108th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday. At the University of Tennessee, Thornton led the nation in average yards per catch and recorded six 50-plus-yard catches, a testament to his potential to be a game-changer for the Raiders.
The addition of Thornton makes it the fourth UT receiver to enter the NFL ranks during Coach Josh Heupel's tenure, following Velus Jones Jr., Jalin Hyatt, and Cedric Tillman in prior years. Knox News highlights Thornton's trajectory and the skills he brings to the Raiders, including his dynamic playmaking capabilities that shone during his time with the Vols.
Running back Dylan Sampson was also picked up in the 4th round, No. 126 overall, by the Cleveland Browns. Sampson's draft followed a history-making season at UT as the 2024 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, racking up school-record stats, as detailed by UTSports. His performance was one for the record books, with 1,491 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns, which also earned him a place in SEC history.
These selections bring Tennessee's NFL Draft pick tally to four for 2025, with the first and second rounds seeing James Pearce Jr. head to the Atlanta Falcons and Omarr Norman-Lott to the Kansas City Chiefs. Since 2022, under Heupel's guidance, the program has had a total of 17 players drafted, tying a four-year record for the college set from 2005-2008. With the latest draft picks, Tennessee has amassed 391 all-time draft picks, dating back to the origins of the drafting process in 1936, including selections from the AFL Draft, which merged in 1967.
