Early years

A native of the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Thompkins attended Miami Northwestern High School. A classmate of Anthony Gaitor, Thompkins started for Northwestern, but was academically ineligible to play as a sophomore and was later expelled for violating school policy. He was allowed to re-enroll prior to his junior football season, only to be expelled again later in the year. After spending his junior year at an alternative school, he re-enrolled at Northwestern for the third time prior to his senior year and finished his high school football career. Not long after the season concluded, Thompkins was expelled for the third time, after being arrested on armed robbery charges.

After seven mostly drug-related arrests Thompkins was barely recruited coming out of high school. His only scholarship offer was from Morgan State, but he never enrolled.

College career

Thompkins briefly attended Palomar Community College in San Marcos, California in 2008 before transferring to El Camino Community College in Torrance, California to play football. At El Camino, Thompkins recorded two 1,000-yard seasons in a row, being named a team captain as a sophomore. Following his sophomore campaign, Thompkins signed with the University of Tennessee in order to play under then-coach Lane Kiffin; following Kiffin's departure to become head coach of the USC Trojans football team, Thompkins transferred to the University of Oklahoma Sooners, but did not play at either university, as Oklahoma has a strict policy against admitting students with a history of legal troubles. Instead, Thompkins transferred to the University of Cincinnati, where he played for two seasons from 2011 to 2012.

As a junior in 2011, Thompkins caught 44 passes for 536 yards (12.2 yards per reception) and two touchdowns. As a senior, he recorded 34 receptions for 541 yards (15.9) and two touchdowns.

Professional career

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots signed Thompkins, an undrafted free agent, on May 3, 2013. As required by the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement, the deal was a three-year contract. Thompkins received a $2,500 signing bonus, and $2,500 of his 2013 salary was guaranteed.

In his preseason debut, Thompkins registered 4 receptions for 23 yards with the first-team offense against the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the third game of the season, Thompkins caught the first two touchdown passes of his career to help the Patriots win the game 23-3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In week 4, Thompkins had the best game of his young career, registering 6 receptions for 127 yards and one touchdown in a win against the Atlanta Falcons. In week 6's matchup against the undefeated New Orleans Saints, Thompkins caught the game-winning touchdown on a 2nd down play with 5 seconds remaining in the game.

Thompkins was released by the Patriots on October 4, 2014.

Oakland Raiders

Thompkins was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Raiders two days after his release, on October 6, 2014.He caught 15 passes in 12 games for 209 yards with Oakland and was cut by Oakland on September 1, 2015.

Second stint with Patriots

The Patriots re-signed Thompkins to their practice squad on September 6, 2015. Thompkins was released from the practice squad on September 30, 2015.

New York Jets

On October 2, 2015 the New York Jets signed Thompkins to their Practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 20, 2015 after Quincy Enunwa was suspended.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 0 5⁄8 in	193 lb	32 1⁄4 in	8 3⁄4 in	4.45 s	1.56 s	2.55 s	4.21 s	6.88 s	33.5 in	10 ft 1 in	8 reps

Regular Season Stats

Year	Team	GP	REC	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	20+	40+	1ST	FUM
2013	NE	12	32	466	14.6	38.8	49	4	8	1	21	0
2014	NE	2	6	53	8.8	26.5	16	0	0	0	3	0
2014	OAK	12	15	209	13.9	17.4	50	0	2	1	10	0
Total	Total	26	53	728	13.7	28.0	50	4	10	2	34	0

Personal

He is the cousin to current Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and also has a younger brother Kendal Thompkins who plays football for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]