Observations From Day 16 of Patriots Training Camp

☀️ Weather: Cloudy

👔 Dress Code: Pads

📋 Practice Script: Slip and Slide!, Conditioning, Red Zone, 7-on-7s, 11-on-11s, Punt, Two-Minute

☑️  ATTENDANCE

⛑️ Physically Unable to Perform

• WR Kendrick Bourne
• LG Cole Strange
• LB Sione Takitaki

🫥 Absent

• IDL Christian Barmore
• ED Joshua Uche
• IOL Nick Leverett
• WR JaQuae Jackson
• TE Hunter Henry
• TE Austin Hooper

❌ Limited / Did Not Participate

• SAF Marte Mapu
• LS Joe Cardona
• CB Shaun Wade
• LB Oshane Ximines
• OT Calvin Anderson

🤕 Injuries

• TE Mitchell Wilcox

The Patriots’ tight end depth continued to dwindle on Sunday. Mitchell Wilcox left after injuring his lower leg and didn’t return, while Austin Hooper was not seen at practice today after suffering a leg injury yesterday.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Drake Maye Remains QB2 but Spends Time with Starters

Jacoby Brissett is still clearly the Patriots’ starting quarterback. He led off every period, faced exclusively the top defense, and took the only reps during a two-minute drill at the end of practice.

As we’ve seen from Brissett for about a week, his accuracy was inconsistent, and the offense’s execution felt choppy. He missed K.J. Osborn and DeMario Douglas multiple times and seemed on a different page than his receivers throughout practice. Brissett was forced to hold onto the ball several times, seemingly due to tight coverage, but he failed to make anything happen outside of structure. The offense also had to re-huddle on the the first play of 11-on-11s, though it’s unclear why, and Brissett’s two-minute drill felt like it lacked urgency.

Drake Maye wasn’t perfect, as he had his share of apparent miscommunications and misses. His lowlight was a near-pick during a scramble drill where Joe Giles-Harris and La’Michael Pettway had the ball slip through their hands. Still, Maye’s highs continue to be significantly higher than Brissett’s. The rookie delivered a perfect throw to a K.J. Osborn corner route for the second day in a row, beating air-tight coverage from Marcus Jones. During 7-on-7s in the Red Zone, he had another corner completion to Tyquan Thornton against Alex Austin, then showed anticipation on a connection with Javon Baker in the back of the end zone.

Maye didn’t see a rep with David Andrews at center, but he played with multiple starting linemen as the group continues shuffling players. These included Mike Onwenu at right tackle, Sidy Sow at left guard, and Chukwuma Okorafor at both tackle spots. Starting receivers Thornton, Osborn, and Douglas also mixed in with Maye at different points throughout the day.

Unless Brissett shows significant improvement, it’s hard to justify starting him for more than the first few weeks of the season. Maye’s ability to quickly adapt and improve should make live reps invaluable, and the offense looks more formidable when he’s on the field.

📈 STOCK UP

Vederian Lowe

This has more to do with what we heard about and from Vederian Lowe today than his on-field performance, which seemed solid. He has been entrenched as the top left tackle in recent weeks, and he looked much better against the Eagles than he did against the Panthers a week earlier.

During a pre-practice presser, Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf told reporters that the staff saw starting potential in Lowe as early as last season.

“Vederian’s done a nice job. He’s steadily improved. We said it last year, if he could just learn–he has really good length–to get his hands out, then he would have a chance to ascend to that starter level, and he’s really started to do that this year, and it’s been impressive to watch him progress, and we’re excited to continue working with him.”

Lowe credited Scott Peters’ for his improved play this season.

“I think working with Coach Peters has definitely improved a lot, for sure. Coach Peters preaches on the strike system, being very direct and precise with your hands, and that plays right into my game. It’s really helped me develop since he’s came, and I’ve learned a lot from him.”

I previously thought Lowe’s ceiling was a quality backup or solid spot starter at left tackle, where he admitted he’s most comfortable. However, after seeing his progress after just one week and hearing what the team thinks of him, I believe he could be a solid full-time starter under Peters’ tutelage. There will be speed bumps along the way, but making and learning from his mistakes could help Lowe tremendously as the season progresses.

Check out my post-practice interview with Vederian Lowe here.

Ja’Lynn Polk

Ja’Lynn Polk had the catch of practice before being outshined by Kawaan Baker (more on that later). The rookie high-pointed a sideline target from Brissett and showed strong hands in making the catch despite blanket coverage from Marco Wilson.

Polk also lined up at Z over K.J. Osborn during a two-minute drive to end practice, a potential indication the team trusts him in critical situations. If so, it’s well-deserved, as he’s been the most consistent receiver in camp not named DeMario Douglas.

Joey Slye

The kicker competition hasn’t felt like a competition over the past two weeks. Joey Slye has attempted and made all three of New England’s preseason field goals, and his hot streak continued today. He went 4-4 on kicks between 44 and 55 yards, which was especially impressive given players surrounded and danced around the veteran to distract him. The performance put Slye (33-39) one field goal ahead of Chad Ryland (32-39) for the entire summer.

Jaheim Bell

With the Patriots’ top three tight ends injured, Jaheim Bell saw a ton of snaps with the first and second offenses. He capitalized on the opportunity with three touchdowns during low Red Zone work, all on targets to the flat. They weren’t high-difficulty reps, but credit the rookie for putting positive things on tape.

📉 STOCK DOWN

Javon Baker

Javon Baker caught a touchdown during Red Zone 7-on-7s but didn’t catch another pass on multiple other targets. The most glaring was a well-thrown deep ball from Maye that Alex Austin broke up. Miscommunications and poor accuracy played a factor, and Austin did a great job playing the hands, but Baker has cooled significantly since his hot start to the summer.

I’m not hitting the panic button on Baker anytime soon, but you’d like to see more consistent production from a player with his talent.

Chad Ryland

Ryland went 3-5 on field goals today, missing wide left from 49 and wide right from 55.

It would take a Joey Slye-esque turnaround for the 2023 4th-rounder to make the active roster.

📓 LEFTOVERS

• Kawaan Baker made the play of the day and one of the best catches of the summer. He used Marcellas Dial’s helmet to help bring in a deep shot from Joe Milton, looking a lot like a Giants wide receiver who shall not be named.
• Caedan Wallace was the top right tackle during the offense’s two-minute drill. Okorafor has been okay, but his lack of push in the run game has been glaring this preseason. Wallace feels like a better fit beside Onwenu if the team feels comfortable with Lowe on the blindside.
• The offensive line got good in the run game, particularly on outside zone carries. There were multiple good gains on cutbacks or bounced runs.
• Brissett appeared to hit his hand on a helmet after a throw in team periods. He was clearly hurt, but continued to practice. This may have caused a scuffle between David Andrews and Davon Godchaux that was quickly extinguished. While the injury may have affected Brissett’s performance, it wasn’t dramatically different than what we’ve seen in recent practices.
• Marco Wilson appears to be pulling ahead in the corner competition. He was the top corner opposite Christian Gonzalez with Jonathan Jones in the slot.
• Gonzalez repped in the slot against Douglas at points in practice with Wilson and Alex Austin outside. Douglas wasn’t targeted in these matchups, but he got wide open on a fade and slant.