Instant observations from Day 1 of Patriots minicamp
While coaching running backs through a drill, Bill Belichick played some center in a practice on Tuesday when an abnormally large volume of New England Patriots seemed to be doing new things.
Let’s start with Isaiah Wynn, who — at least for this practice — was working at right tackle after spending his entire career on the left side after going 23rd overall in the 2018 NFL draft.
Matt Patricia appeared to be relaying plays via a walky-talky to the offensive huddle during practice. So is he the de-facto offensive line coach and de-facto offensive play-caller? Unclear. But it seems to be trending that way.
Then there was tight end Hunter Henry and running back Ty Montgomery who spent some time running through position drills with receivers. Montgomery, in fact, did zero work with running backs. And then there was tight ends coach Nick Caley who took charge of route-running drills with receivers and tight ends. And finally, there were times where N’Keal Harry practically looked like he was a tight end — though that’s not new.
All this came on a day when Belichick went out of his way to provide zero information on the “streamlining” he’s doing on the offense, an adjustment he compared to what the defense underwent a few years ago. What we know is that they’re not running the veer, per Belichick. Helpful — I know.
Let’s dive into the observations.
The top takeaway: Mac Jones' deep ball was a thing of beauty
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Jones dropped an absolute dime — maybe 60 or 65 yards — on his third play during a 7-on-7 drill. Technically, these drills are supposed to be a walkthrough and/or non-competitive. But cornerback Jonathan Jones went to the ground trying to prevent Tre Nixon from hauling in a catch. He nabbed it anyway, and stayed in bounds for an impressive deep ball.
While that’s not the receiver you’d expect to haul in a big play — with the Patriots adding deep threats DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton this offseason — it did mark something that I think is a work-in-progress. I expect the Patriots to attack downfield in the passing game with more success and volume this coming season.
Attendance
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Absent
Nick Folk
Quinn Nordin
Kendrick Bourne
Andrew Stueber
Chasen Hines
Limited
Receiver Jakobi Meyers did not appear to be participating. The absence of Meyers and Bourne made for opportunities for Harry to play in the slot along with Montgomery, Malcolm Perry and Tre Nixon.
Center David Andrews didn’t finish practice. He simply stood and watched for the final 30 minutes.
One more thing
Retired director of football research Ernie Adams was in attendance. He has been around the facility a fair amount this offseason. Running backs coach Ivan Fears was on the field, too. He is expected to retire — but, of course, can always change his mind.
The little details
The weather: I saw wispy clouds hanging over the lower practice field at Gillette Stadium on an otherwise sunny day. The temperature hit 78 degrees.
The pad level: Minicamp is an unpadded session, per NFL rules.
The energy: The practice certainly seemed like a major step-up from the last OTA session we saw which was mostly conditioning. But with most of the players in attendance, the session seemed to carry a little more urgency and excitement. Players seemed very engaged.
Biggest winner and loser
WINNER
Running back Damien Harris may have more fun at practice than anyone. He is always laughing, screaming and cheering. He loves finishing long runs, even and especially when the defense is supposed to let him go. On a play where Ty Montgomery caught an intermediate pass along the left sideline, Harris chased the play in an attempt to block safety Adrian Phills — and on a play where Harris wouldn’t even actually be able to block Phillips. They laughed about it afterward.
Harris was also one of the loudest to celebrate when running back J.J. Taylor sprung loose for a big play on a through from Jones over the deep middle. Frankly, Harris was the loudest player to celebrate on every big play.
LOSER
Tight end Dalton Keene took offensive reps with a group of new players, both rookies and veterans who had just arrived on the team. Keene has been with this group since 2020 when they drafted him in the third round. He has yet to prove worth the investment and their decision to put him with rookies/newcomers isn’t exactly a compliment. Receiver Kristian Wilkerson was also in that group.
Everything else that's important
The Patriots practice nearly ended in a fight, with a scrum forming after Cole Strange dove at Matt Judon’s legs after a fumble. The defense and offense squabbled over the play.
With Wynn on the right side and Brown absent, tackle Yodny Cajuste spent the majority of the time on the left side. Then tackle Trent Brown made a late appearance and took over at left. Wynn stayed on the right side. When Wynn stepped out to do some stretching, Justin Herron jumped in on the right side. And then James Ferentz took over for center David Andrews for the last third of practice. Andrews simply stood and watched.
We saw a fair amount of special teams work, and during one of the punting sessions, Judge and Matt Patricia huddled together — with Caley jumping in and out of the discussion. That seems to be the offensive brain trust, as I’ve noted a number of times. Later during practice, Judge, Belichick and Patricia stood in a line looking at the offense from behind Jones. Again: the brain trust.
Safety Kyle Dugger appeared to catch an interception on a ball that Hoyer sailed over the hands of Kristian Wilkerson.
At one point during practice, there were two walkthroughs happening simultaneously. Quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Jones led one drill. And then Bailey Zappe seemed to be running one with less experienced offensive players, including rookies Tyquan Thornton and Pierre Strong and veterans Keene and Wilkerson.
On a particularly sharp series, Jones threw to Ty Montgomery intermediate left, Nelson Agholor short right and then deep left to Nixon for that play I already mentioned in the top takeawy.
After one of the walkthrough periods, Jones spent time chatting with center David Andrews. That’s that extra-mile communication that I’ve seen from him during the early phases of the offseason work.
Bill Belichick started the practice with the defense, because of course he did.
For the first offensive rep of minicamp, the Patriots had N’Keal Harry among the top unit — because of course they did. The other surprise was receiver Ty Montgomery. Keep in mind they were without receiver Kendrick Bourne.
Cornerbacks Jack Jones and Myles Bryant and safety Dugger were among those back to practice returning punts. As was to be expected, Matthew Slater and Justin Bethel got the first reps on punt coverage as gunners.
Running back Kevin Harris has quads that are bigger than some NFL players’ torsos. That is all.
Tight end Jonnu Smith had a handful of solid catches. He also had a drop, with the ball squirting out of his hands after he went to the ground on a quick pass. Smith also had a false start. He took a lap.
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