10 Players that stood out on day 4 of Patriots training camp

FOXBORO -- It's almost time for "real football."

That is, the first day of fully padded practices at New England Patriots training camp at the Gillette Stadium practice fields in Foxboro. For one more day, we got to observe the team working without pads - but the day was unexpectedly competitive and intense.

It appears that head coach Jerod Mayo wanted to ramp things up a bit before things really got spicy out there. In total, the Pats ran 45 plays in either 11-on-11 or 7-on-7, and also ran a lengthy 1-on-1 period on both fields, one with the wide receivers and the other with running backs and tight ends.

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Here are 10 players who stood out in practice, for various reasons...

Brissett had arguably his best practice of camp so far. He finished 8-of-13 in team drills, with a "sack" by Deatrich Wise Jr. mixed in. Of the five incompletions, only one could be classified as a throw that was too off the mark to be catchable. One got broken up and the other two went off the receiver's hands.

Brissett's best play of the day came in 7-on-7. He rolled out to his right to escape pressure then heaved a deep ball about 40 yards down the right sideline, and tight end Austin Hooper came down with the leaping catch. The two were never teammates with the Cleveland Browns, but they may be building chemistry due to mutual familiarity with Alex Van Pelt's offense.

The veteran continues to rep with the projected starters on offense and be first in line for all team drills. Brissett still looks like he was brought here to start, early and often, and Drake Maye hasn't shown enough on the field to push him just yet.

The rookie was arguably the team's best wide receiver on Sunday. He caught both of his targets in team drills, but Baker saved his best for the 1-on-1 period. Taking advantage of a matchup against undrafted cornerback Mikey Victor, Baker streaked down the field and tracked a deep ball from Jacoby Brissett directly over his head, coming down with the catch as he tumbled to the turf and completing the process.

Baker also showed off his swagger, getting back on his feet and pumping up the crowd (which was pretty good compared to the start of camp, by the way). He and fellow rookie Ja'Lynn Polk appear to have plenty of opportunities to make headway as early starters in their rookie seasons. We'll see if Baker's good day Sunday translates to more reps with the 1's going forward.

Gibson looks like a full go in practice after starting camp on the reserve/non-football injury list, and he made the most of his opportunities in both 1-on-1s and team drills. He made one catch and took one handoff with the starters in 11-on-11, and dusted linebacker Jahlani Tavai (twice!) in 1-on-1. The former Commander has a chance to be a real factor as a pass-catching back in the new system.

The aforementioned deep catch by Hooper from Brissett was the play of the day in team drills, but Hooper was busy overall. He caught 4-of-5 total targets in team drills, mainly as a receiver over the middle of the field in the short-to-intermediate areas. It's been a while since the Pats had a reliable No. 2 tight end, but it looks like they could have one with Hooper.

A rookie seventh-round pick out of Florida State, Bell deserves a mention because after Hooper and Baker, Bell had arguably the third-best catch of the day. It came in 1-on-1, when he went up against safety Kyle Dugger on a throw to the corner of the end zone. Bell juggled the ball a bit before securing it as he went to the ground. An impressive play for the rookie, who's competing for a spot as the possible third tight end on the roster.

For the second straight day, Wallace played left tackle with the projected starting offense in 11-on-11. The rookie played right tackle throughout his career at Penn State, but he and the team appear confident in his ability to transition to the left side. And things settled down a bit for the offensive line as a whole over the past two practices, with Wallace at left tackle. We'll see if that continues once the full pads go on, but a promising development for Wallace and the unit.

Robinson stood out in a bad way on Sunday. He committed a false start during 11-on-11, and became the first Patriot to have to run a penalty lap for his miscue. Robinson should make the team as a rookie fourth-round pick, but he's repping with the backups and will have to bounce back from a rough moment.

Wise can be credited with a "sack" and also a pass breakup in 11-on-11, as he appeared to get a hand on a Joe Milton pass attempt at the line of scrimmage. The eight-year veteran is a virtual lock to make the team, and Sunday was a reminder of his ability to come up with dynamic plays at opportune times.

Giles-Harris made the only turnover of the day in team drills, picking off Milton on a short pass attempt over the middle of the field. The 27-year-old is in his sixth NFL season and is starting to look like a dark horse candidate for the bottom of the roster as a reserve defender and special teams linebacker/safety.

We're listing Marcus Jones as simply a defensive back, here, because what stood out the most about him was the fact that he lined up on at least one play as a deep safety during 11-on-11, with the starting defense. Jones has also lined up as both an inside and outside cornerback, and continues to take reps as a punt returner.

Jones looks ready to make an impact on the team in more ways than one, after missing 15 games in 2023.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.