13 Players that stood out on day 11 of Patriots training camp
The New England Patriots continued training camp with their 11th open practice on Tuesday, and their sixth in full pads. Here are 13 players that stood out on the field.
FOXBORO — Is it possible that we just got closer to a quarterback competition for the New England Patriots?
So far, the idea of a competition between Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye has been nonexistent. But on Tuesday, the rookie had one of his best practices so far this summer, and for a while, he arguably looked better than the veteran incumbent. That changed a bit late in practice, which we’ll explain below.
Still, it was another eventful padded practice, and one in which the offense had both good and bad moments, with both of the top-2 quarterbacks. For that reason, it’s fair to wonder if the gap is starting to close.
MORE: Jerod Mayo shares plans for Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye in Patriots preseason opener
Here are 13 players that stood out on the practice field in the 11th open practice of New England Patriots training camp…
QB Drake Maye
The rookie finished 5-of-10 in 11-on-11 drills, and 2-of-4 with a touchdown in a 7-on-7 red zone period. Maye looks notably more comfortable with the ball in his hands, and is making quicker decisions with the ball. The decisions themselves haven’t always been the best ones, but he’s not hesitating or tucking & running as much as he was in earlier practices.
He completed his only pass attempt of 11-on-11 with a rollout and dump-off to tight end Mitchell Wilcox, which he took for some YAC up the sideline. As he has for most of camp, Maye looked better in 7-on-7 than 11-on-11. He dropped one in the bucket to Kayshon Boutte in the back-right corner of the end zone, showing great anticipation. He should’ve had a second touchdown on a similar throw to rookie tight end Jaheim Bell, but from our vantage point, Bell didn’t quite get both feet in bounds.
Maye later completed four passes in a row during an 11-on-11 period starting from the 40-yard line, in what looked like a basic game simulation. His only incompletion of this period was a throwaway, as he escaped oncoming pressure and got the ball out of danger. This was a step forward from throwaways in prior practices, which were dangerously close to intentional grounding penalties.
Up until the final 11-on-11 period, a simulated one-minute drill, Maye was having a better practice than Brissett. On the first play of this drive, Maye made an ill-advised attempt to rookie wide receiver Javon Baker as he was tightly covered by safety A.J. Thomas, who tipped the ball up in the air. Rookie cornerback Marcellas Dial came down with the interception on the play. Maye then had three more incompletions, one of which was broken up, and a fifth play included a bad snap by Atonio Mafi and what appeared to be a delay of game.
So, Maye might still be a little behind Brissett in terms of situational football and the overall operation in 11-on-11. Brissett went 4-of-5 in the 2-minute offense, including a nice deep ball to K.J. Osborn that could’ve been a long touchdown catch-and-run if not for the play being whistled dead at the catch point. But based on the overall practice, Maye seems to be making progress toward a possible opportunity to rep with the starters in practice.
WR Javon Baker
Baker caught only one of his four targets in team drills, but it was a beauty. As Brissett launched a fade to the back-left corner of the end zone, Baker got a half-step behind cornerback Christian Gonzalez and dove backward to make the grab, and barely got his hip down in bounds as he crashed to the turf. The rookie has been targeted a lot in that area during camp, and that was one of his best highlights.
WR Kayshon Boutte
For the second straight day, Boutte made one of the highlight catches of the day, this time the aforementioned 7-on-7 touchdown from Maye, going up and beating cornerback Alex Austin in coverage. Boutte is making a late preseason push for a roster spot, as the receiver depth chart continues to solidify. He’s solidly in the mix with Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor, and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson
Stevenson made three catches in team drills, and on two of them he showed his surprising after-the-catch burst as he exploded up the sideline. When he’s had the room to make plays, Stevenson has looked every bit the part of a featured back in the Alex Van Pelt running scheme. He could be primed for a big season.
RB Kevin Harris
Harris stood out in a bad way on Tuesday, which was a rainy practice. He couldn’t hold onto a handoff from Maye and dropped the ball for a fumble. He did show good awareness by falling on it as defenders shouted out for the loose ball. Harris still seems like the No. 2 running back option, but ball security is job security, and he’ll want to make sure he doesn’t botch anymore handoffs.
C Atonio Mafi
Mafi made a bad snap to Maye during the final 11-on-11 period of the day, as both the timing and accuracy appeared way off. Bad snaps have been a consistent problem for Mafi, who may have to settle in as purely a guard to have a spot on the team.
DT Trysten Hill
Hill got a hand on a Bailey Zappe pass attempt during 11-on-11, and it was a borderline strip-sack, as he was in Zappe’s face on the play. It’s possible Hill wans’t supposed to do that at all, since he’s not allowed to touch the quarterback. But in a real game, the passer would’ve been in trouble. The former Cowboy and 2019 second-round pick is making a good case to make the team out of camp.
DT Sam Roberts
Roberts really popped for the first time all summer, as he got in all alone on Zappe for a pressure during 11-on-11. He would’ve had a sack opportunity in a real game. The Patriots are going to need pass-rushing to come from obscurity on the defensive tackle depth chart without Christian Barmore, and Roberts has a chance to emerge as a candidate.
LB Joe Giles-Harris
Harris made the only pass breakup of Maye’s otherwise impressive 7-on-7 period, getting a hand on the ball to whack it away from running back JaMycal Hasty. With Sione Takitaki still sidelined, the Patriots don’t have a clear answer as far as coverage linebackers. Giles-Harris has an opportunity to earn that type of role.
S Jabrill Peppers
Peppers went stride-for-stride with Hunter Henry on the first 7-on-7 rep of the day, breaking up a potential touchdown pass from Brissett with tight end zone coverage. We already know the impact Peppers can have as an open-field hitter and run defender, but if he can also cover tight ends, he could be a real weapon for the Patriots secondary. Plus, he looks healthy.
S A.J. Thomas
For the second straight practice, the newcomer popped. Thomas was all over Baker on the Maye pass attempt that he knocked into the air, making the Marcellas Dial interception possible. It’s rare to see such an unheralded late-summer signing make such an immediate impact, but Thomas may be making a real surge toward a roster spot with his impressive early returns in camp.
CB Marcellas Dial
Dial made the aforementioned pick of Maye, and got a lot of reps with the projected starting defense in team drills. The same can be said for every Patriots cornerback at this point in camp, but it’s worth noting the usage for the rookie sixth-round pick out of South Carolina, especially considering he made that pick.
LS Tucker Addington
Yes, we’re including a long snapper in the list of camp standouts. Unfortunately, as is the nature of the position, we’re only highlighting Addington because he made a couple of low snaps in a late field goal drill. Holder Bryce Baringer handled both, and both field goal attempts (one by Chad Ryland, one by Joey Slye) were converted, anyway. But with Joe Cardona not participating late, perhaps this is another position battle brewing. Addington didn’t exactly make the most of his opportunity on Tuesday.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
