PATRIOTS TRAINING CAMP NOTEBOOK 7/26: ROOKIES PROVIDE HOPEFUL GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE

Training camp practice No. 3 is officially in the books as the New England Patriots held a near two-hour session in a sunny Foxboro. With a day off on Saturday, New England donned shells for the first time this summer.

Here’s what went down on the back fields of Gillette Stadium.

Attendance

Absent: CB Kaleb Ford-Dement*, WR Kendrick Bourne (PUP), RB Terrell Jennings (PUP), G Cole Strange (PUP), OL Jake Andrews (PUP), LB Sione Takitaki (PUP), RB Antonio Gibson (NFI)

Limited: WR DeMario Douglas, LB/S Marte Mapu, DL Christian Barmore

Red non-contact jersey: CB Shaun Wade

*New absence

DeMario Douglas remained absent during team drills as he works his way back from a minor hand injury. Christian Barmore and Marte Mapu joined the team in uniform late in practice but did not participate — Mapu remained involved by listening into play calls on a walkie talkie.

In the secondary, undrafted free agent Kaleb Ford-Dement was a new absence while fellow cornerback Shaun Wade, who has been seen off the side running sprint the last two days, was in a red non-contact jersey for the first time.

After missing Thursday’s session due to tightness, Davon Godchaux returned and participated on Friday. He spoke with the media afterwards and described his ongoing contract situation as “frustrating.”

Takeaways

Glimpse of the future: During the second 11-on-11 session of the day, the Patriots saw what they hope was a sign of what’s to come. On the field to the right, Drake Maye dropped back and lofted a ball down the right sideline, where fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk went up-and-over a defender to haul it in — sparking a loud cheer from the crowd and celebration from Polk.

Shortly after on the adjacent field, Joe Milton showed off his patented arm strength by uncorking a 60-plus yard bomb that was caught by fellow rookie Javon Baker. He went over first-year cornerback Marcellas Dial in the process of making the catch.

As New England has kicked off this rebuild, those two plays offered perhaps a glimpse of optimism for the future.

Maye’s day: Speaking of the No. 3 overall pick, it was another relatively positive day for the quarterback despite a few misses in the short game and the defense continuing to have the upper hand. After Maye’s first pass was batted down by Ja’Whaun Bentley in 7-on-7s, the rookie came back and connected on his next five straight passes — with three completions going to Hunter Henry. The next 7s period saw Maye hit a strong back-shoulder ball to JaQuae Jackson before back-to-back completions to Kayshon Boutte and Baker.

After the highlight-reel connection to Polk, which Maye admitted he didn't throw all that well, the QB had his first true rookie mistake: in 11-on-11s, a check-down pass to the left flat went right to Matthew Judon for an interception (that would have turned into a pick-six).

Maye responded well, however, throwing four completions in a row, including a strong out route to Polk.

Compared to Maye, Jacoby Brissett, the veteran who almost threw his own interception to Bentley on a bootleg, has been slightly more consistent underneath. He has failed to connect on the big plays downfield like Maye has, though. The offense’s ceiling rises with the rookie under center, a trend that could give the coaching staff something to think about when it comes to a Week 1 starter if it continues.

Tackle flip: For the third straight day of camp the Patriots featured a new combination of tackles up front. This time, Chukwuma Okorafor, who has spent the past two days on the left side, aligned at right tackle; rookie Caedan Wallace saw his first reps on the left in Okorafor’s place. New England used several different combinations throughout the day in addition to the main pair.

What has remained throughout three days has been the interior, featuring Sidy Sow at left guard, David Andrews at center, and Michael Onwenu at right guard.

Kicker competition: For the first time this summer Chad Ryland and Joey Slye got their chance at live field goal reps. Working in the 30-to-40-yard range, Ryland connected on all four of his attempts while Slye went 3-of-4 — his one miss being slightly pushed right. After Slye appeared to have the upper hand in the offseason, the kicker competition rolls on.

Other notes:

  • Behind Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye, the quarterback order was again Joe Milton followed by Bailey Zappe.
  • Marcus Jones continued his strong start to the summer by recording a deep pass breakup downfield against Jalen Reagor.
  • Alex Austin got in to make a strong breakup in coverage against JuJu Smith-Schuster.
  • Beyond the interception, Matthew Judon looked like the Matthew Judon of old along the edge again. For the second straight day he recorded another would-be sack as he was quickly in Jacoby Brissett’s face to force a throwaway.
  • Brenden Schooler again saw extended reps at safety, nearly intercepting Bailey Zappe at one point.

The Patriots will be off on Saturday before returning to the practice fields on Sunday. Practice is set to begin at 11 a.m. ET with gates opening at 10 a.m. ET.

2024-07-26T18:55:09Z dg43tfdfdgfd