Khyri Thornton, defensive lineman

FOX Sports Wisconsin’s Paul Imig gives an in-depth statistical analysis and film study of every Packers player in his annual offseason checkup. You can find every report here.

Season stats (Preseason only): four games (97 snaps), six tackles, one missed tackle, one quarterback hurry, zero stops (tackles that resulted in offensive failure)

ProFootballFocus.com preseason rating: minus-2.4 (ranked No. 29 out of 39 Packers defensive players in preseason)

Best preseason game: Preseason Week 1 at Tennessee (played 30 of 62 snaps); two tackles, zero missed tackles, one quarterback hurry; minus-0.8 PFF rating

Worst preseason game: Preseason Week 4 vs. Kansas City (played 16 of 66 snaps); zero tackles, one missed tackle; minus-0.6 PFF rating

Expectations at the start of training camp: Low

Expectations were . . . Not met

Looking live: The Packers’ 2014 third-round selection (No. 85 overall) of Khyri Thornton was a bit of a surprise even to the then-24-year-old defensive lineman himself. Entering the NFL at a more advanced age, Thornton’s production as a senior at Southern Mississippi wasn’t even all that great (0.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss).

"I like his versatility," defensive line coach Mike Trgovac said on draft night. "We watched a lot of tape on him: quick, good explosion for a guy his size, and good movement skills."

Trgovac noted how Thornton had experience playing nose tackle as well as the 3- and 5-technique positions along the defensive line.

"Khyri was an interesting one, kind of came up later in the process," director of college scouting Brian Gutenkunst said after the draft. "But he had so much twitch, so much upside, it was something we couldn’t pass on. The way he’s able to run, a 4.9 (40-yard dash) for a 312-pound man; the kid can run. He’s got a lot of upside. We felt fortunate to get him."

Upon further review: Thornton made almost no positive impact during training camp or preseason. Rookies at his age should be more ready to compete at the next level, and Thornton wasn’t there. His name was mentioned just once in any noteworthy way in FOXSportsWisconsin.com’s Training Camp Report series.

Thornton was given 97 preseason snaps to prove himself. Undrafted Luther Robinson was the only defensive lineman to get more preseason work than Thornton. Obviously the Packers wanted to give their third-round pick every chance to not only make the team, but also to contribute during the regular season.

In 62 pass-rushing opportunities, Thornton created one quarterback hurry. That’s it. No sacks, no quarterback hits. Just the one hurry. Thornton’s moves weren’t getting him past offensive linemen, and he seemed to lack a killer instinct. He performed at an average level in 33 run-stopping opportunities, making six tackles and missing one.

Thornton suffered a hamstring injury during the preseason finale and was placed on injured reserve Aug. 30. Ted Thompson always wants to keep his mid-round-pick rookies (as he also did with the equally unproductive Carl Bradford), but giving Thornton a 53-man roster spot based on performance would’ve been a very tough sell.

Overall 2014 grade: Incomplete

Status for 2015: 55 percent chance of being on the active roster to begin next season. Midway through the 2015 season, Thornton will turn 26 years old. Basically, it’s now or never for him. Maybe the year of watching NFL action up-close while being unable to participate was a wake-up call. But with an entirely new crop of rookies about to join Green Bay’s roster after the draft, Thompson will have a difficult decision to make if Thornton once again underperforms. The Packers’ defensive line doesn’t have great depth, so there will certainly be snaps for the taking if Thornton wants them. It could be a short-lived NFL career, but it’s also possible Thornton shows in training camp what got Green Bay’s front office so excited about him late in the draft process.

Next: Quarterback Scott Tolzien

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