John Spytek: Fourth-round pick Dont'e Thornton is an elite athlete, born to be a Raider

The Raiders drafted Tennessee wide receiver Dont'e Thornton in the fourth round, and General Manager John Spytek says few receivers ever to play the game have his athletic makeup.

Spytek said Thornton is an athlete like Calvin Johnson and DK Metcalf, but a player who wants to do more than just get the ball in his hands.

"Born to be a Raider," Spytek said of Thornton, via the Raiders’ YouTube channel. "Only Calvin Johnson and DK Metcalf shared similar height, weight, speed, measurables as him. But maybe the under-appreciated thing about him is his competitiveness and his spirit in the run game as a blocker, guy that will strain to open up holes and compete to give running backs lanes to run in. You don't always get that with big speed guys. A lot of times those guys just want to run deep and catch the ball. But that wasn't what we saw on tape. We saw a guy who wanted to be a good teammate and do whatever he was asked to do."

At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds with a 4.30-second 40-yard dash, Thornton at least has the height and speed of Johnson and Metcalf, if not the bulk. It wouldn't be fair to expect a fourth-round pick to have that kind of impact, but Spytek thinks the Raiders got a tremendous talent on Day Three.