The Patriots put the pads back on for their 11th training camp practice, marking their sixth day in full uniform. The main areas of focus were run-heavy full-field drives, red zone work, and end-of-half situations.
Here’s a look at New England’s attendance and what I noticed on a cloudy, humid day in Foxborough.
Attendance
Absent: CB Carlton Davis III, WR Romeo Doubs, FB Jack Westover, WR Cameron Dorner
Physically Unable to Perform: ED Harold Landry III
Non-Football Injury: ST Brenden Schooler
Injured Reserve: WR Jeremiah Webb, WR Jimmy Kibble, TE Julian Hill
Tweet of the Day
Notebook
- Will Campbell was present and in uniform, but didn’t participate in competitive drills while sporting a brace on his left arm. Marcus Bryant stepped up as the top left tackle with Dametrious Crownover backing him up on the second unit. Caleb Lomu mostly played right tackle with the twos, but also got blindside reps with the third offense.
- Drake Maye and the top passing game struggled to connect downfield during full-field drills. Craig Woodson smothered Kayshon Boutte on a post, giving Boutte no chance to track down the pass. A.J. Brown later stacked Christian Gonzalez on a go ball, but Maye just overthrew him, potentially due to a wonky snap. The best connection of the period came on an out where Brown out-muscled Kobee Minor to win leverage on an out.
- The Patriots’ top tight ends had a productive 1-on-1 red zone period. Hunter Henry beat Dell Pettus on a dig and fade for scores, though Pettus also showed great patience to break up a slant between those wins. Eli Raridon went 2-3 against Mike Brown, winning on a dig and a corner. A.J. Brown scored in the back of the end zone against Woodson, but Woodson bounced back with a pass breakup on a corner, and Christian Gonzalez locked Brown up on another corner to end the drill. Boutte separated Brown and Gonzalez after some prolonged jawing.
- Both the top and backup offenses closed out end-of-half drives with interceptions, including two for the starters. Maye started strong with 1:20 to get in the end zone, completing a short throw to Henry, a checkdown to Rhamondre Stevenson, and a curl to Brown with Gonzalez on his back. But after spiking the ball with 0:32 on the clock, Maye targeted Boutte on a curl, and Marcus Jones buzzed under it to kill the drive. The top offense got one more chance to punch in a score, but Kevin Byard III broke on a seam to Henry for a second straight pick. The backups took the field shortly after, but Tommy DeVito was immediately intercepted by John Saunders Jr. on what appeared to be a late, forced throw over the middle.
- Mack Hollins got more reps with the starters in Romeo Doubs‘ absence. Hollins scored on a high-point corner target from Maye, climbing the ladder to beat Byard.
- The ground game created some solid push at times in a run-heavy practice, but it looked like another win for the starting defense.
- Gabe Jacas‘ ramp-up continued, as he appeared to take a larger share of reps with the second defense while occasionally mixing in with starters. Jacas beat Lomu with a ghost move during team drills, drawing a hold and flushing DeVito from the pocket. He later beat draft classmate Dametrious Crownover to influence an interception that ended practice.
- The Patriots hosted former Giants guard Greg Van Roten on a visit. Van Roten entered the league with the Packers while Patriots EVP of player personnel Eliot Wolf was in Green Bay, and Van Roten overlapped with VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden in New York. The Patriots’ guard depth is in a shaky spot, with Ben Brown best suited at center and career tackle James Hudson III lining up inside over the last week of practice.
- Kyle Williams sent Byard to the shadow realm with his release on a slant during red zone 2-on-2s.
- Terrell Jennings appears to have leaped Lan Larison for the third running back spot.
- Caedan Wallace returned to practice today but did not participate.