Why Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill believes he’ll have an All-Pro season
Kansas City Chiefs fourth-year safety Juan Thornhill won’t ever be accused of not having confidence.
And the attribute was on full display Tuesday, the first day of mandatory minicamp, when Thornhill stepped up to address the media and made a bold prediction.
“I have high expectations, it’s as simple as that,” Thornhill said. “I’m planning on playing like my best football by far, playing at the top of my game and I’m expecting an All-Pro season. I’m saying that right now.”
Eyebrows might rise on Thornill’s declaration, especially when considering he hasn’t been selected as a Pro Bowl representative, much less an All-Pro, in his first three seasons.
But there’s a reason Thornhill feels the way he does.
For the first time in two offseasons, he didn’t have to deal with rehabilitating an injury and he hasn’t been this healthy since the 2019 offseason, when the Chiefs used a second-round pick on him in the draft.
During the 2020 offseason, Thornhill was working his way back from an ACL injury suffered in the 2019 regular season finale. Then, the Chiefs limited his workload during organized team activities in 2021 leading to training camp.
Now, it’s been all systems go for a fully healthy Thornhill through this year’s OTAs and the first day of mandatory minicamp.
“I’m all the way back,” said Thornhill, who enters the final year of his rookie contract. “I’m flying around right now.”
Thornhill’s words must be music to the Chiefs’ ears because they have missed the free safety that they had in 2019.
Before his ACL injury, the 6-foot, 203-pound Thornhill was making a strong case for Defensive Rookie of the Year after totaling 57 tackles, three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and five passes defensed in 16 games alongside strong safety Tyrann Mathieu.
The subsequent two seasons saw a different Thornhill, one who wasn’t the same player during his rookie season. But the ACL injury is now a distant memory and Thornhill said he’s “100%” back to his rookie form.
“I’m not thinking about the knee at all,” he said. “My confidence is on the high and I feel like I can run and compete with anybody on the field.”
What should also help Thornhill’s confidence is knowing where he stands on the team’s depth chart ahead of training camp.
In 2021, it took six games for Thornhill to eventually supplant Daniel Sorensen in the starting rotation. And this year, there’s little doubt Thornhill will open the season alongside Justin Reid as the Chiefs’ top safeties.
“It feels great,” Thornhill said. “I mean, it takes some of the pressure off my shoulders, honestly, because sometimes you feel like you have to be perfect. But no one is perfect playing football. I’m just going out here playing football having fun each and every day, and whatever. The peace is there. That’s what I’m going to go with.”
Thornhill, as the resident veteran among the Chiefs’ defensive backs, also assumes a leadership role to fill Mathieu’s spot on the back end of coverage.
And the responsibility takes on importance with so many new faces in the Chiefs’ secondary, which includes Reid, safety Deon Bush, rookie safety Byran Cook, cornerback Lonnie Johnson, rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie and rookie cornerback Joshua Williams, among others.
Mathieu signed a free-agent deal with the New Orleans Saints, but Thornhill had a good teacher to learn from over the past three seasons to prepare him become the player others look to.
“I was really quiet when he was here because I knew that he was the type of guy that is just a leader and I followed in his footsteps,” Thornhill said. “And now, it’s my time to take on that role and to get everybody lined up, so I think he did a good job of helping me get to this spot in my fourth year to become that leader.”
So, let’s quickly review.
Thornhill is finally healthy and knows he’s assured a starting job to start the season in a leadership role.
It’s no wonder he’s confident he will accomplish a first in his career.
“Like I said before, I’m going to have an All-Pro season,” Thornhill emphasized. “I’m putting it out there. If you all want to take that down, record it, it doesn’t matter because I’m committed to doing that.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Why Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill believes he’ll have an All-Pro season."
