Juan Thornhill


Juan Thornhill is an American football safety for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Virginia.

Early years

Thornhill attended Altavista High School in Altavista, Virginia. He played safety and quarterback in high school. He committed to the University of Virginia to play college football. Thornhill also played basketball in high school.

College career

Thornhill played at Virginia from 2015 to 2018. Thornhill played cornerback and safety at Virginia, where he graduated in December 2018 with a degree in Anthropology. During his career, he had 208 tackles, 13 interceptions and 1.5 sack.

Professional career

Thornhill was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Chiefs had acquired the 63rd overall pick in a 2018 trade with the Los Angeles Rams that sent Marcus Peters to Los Angeles. On May 14, 2019, he signed a four year rookie contract.
In week 6 against the Houston Texans, Thornhill recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Deshaun Watson in the 31-24 loss.
In week 13 against the Oakland Raiders, Thornhill intercepted a pass thrown by Derek Carr and returned it for a 46 yard touchdown in the 40–9 win.
He finished the season with 3 interceptions and 42 tackles finishing off an impressive rookie campaign.
On December 29, 2019, Thornhill tore his left ACL in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers, forcing him to miss the postseason after starting all 16 games of the regular season. Without Thornhill, the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers 31-20. He was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp on July 31, 2020.