Patriots OTA Notebook: Second look

The New England Patriots returned to the practice fields behind Gillette Stadiums on Wednesday afternoon for another OTA practice. It was their fifth of nine practices they've had this spring, and their second session open to the media.

Unlike training camp, OTA's are not a linear practice for outside observers. For example, last time the team had an open practice quarterback Drake Maye threw four interceptions in his first six passes. It's important to keep in mind that ESPN's Mike Reiss reported that Maye bounced back in the following practice, even though it wasn't a public session.

In terms of the court of public opinion, Wednesday was Maye's redemption chance. He was better, without any turnovers. However his accuracy was a bit erratic with multiple missed throws, mainly missing high. When Maye did get in a rhythm is was mainly through finding his favorite target from last year in tight end Hunter Henry. That turned into a high-volume day for Henry.

Of course, there was more going on around Maye. Here are some other observations from Wednesday's practice...

As far as non-padded practices go, Wednesday was a strong day for the Patriots' defensive line. The first unit was regularly in the backfield during team periods.

Rookie Joshua Farmer was one of the players who stood out. He had a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage, and nearly blew up a screen play a few snaps later.

Anfernee Jennings was also active. Jennings had multiple would-be sacks, working with multiple defensive units. Free agent signing Milton Williams also had a pass breakup. There were a few other plays where the line as a whole collapsed the pocket without one individual player at the point of attack.

In a positive trend for the offensive line, right tackle Morgan Moses took part in some team periods on Wednesday. That wasn't the case for the one open practice last week when he only took part in walkthroughs then went on the side field during the more live reps. For the second practice in a row, Moses also stayed after practice to work with some of the Patriots' younger tackles.

Mike Onwenu remains limited, and only took part in walkthroughs. Sidy Sow returned to practice and got some reps in Onwenu's place. Meanwhile at left guard, Tyrese Robinson saw increased work after Wes Schweitzer had a heavy workload last week.

At center, Garrett Bradbury was part of a botched exchange with Maye. He still is getting the majority of the snaps, while Jared Wilson appears to be limited.

The only offensive lineman who really hasn't moved around is Will Campbell. Through two open practices, he's been cemented at left tackle.

With the focus once again heavily on the passing game, there were a few highlight plays during practice on Wednesday. The defense also forced a turnover.

The first highlight play came from rookie Kyle Williams. In an 11-on-11 period Williams beat cornerback Miles Battle clean off the line and had multiple steps on him on a go route. Joshua Dobbs hit him down field for a would-be touchdown.

On the other highlight play, tight end Jaheim Bell was running up the seam with rookie safety Craig Woodson in tight coverage. Dobbs looked like he was trying to lead Bell away from the coverage, but it turned into an underthrow. Still, Bell made a diving/sliding grab, picking the ball off the turf for what would have been about a 25-yard gain. It was a good moment for Bell, who finds himself in a tight competition for the third tight end spot with Jack Westover and rookies CJ Dippre and Gee Scott.

For the defense, the lone interception of the day came on a tip-drill. Dobbs hit wide receiver John Jiles in stride on a crosser, but the ball popped off his hands and up in the air. Battle was in the right spot at the right time, and grabbed it for a would-be pick six, just a few plays after the rep where he was beat by Williams.

Late in practice, second-year receiver Javon Baker was targeted up the sideline on a deep ball from Ben Wooldridge. Baker made the catch, but not after a significant push-off. Despite that Baker celebrated the catch as the rest of the offense returned to the huddle. That caught the attention of head coach Mike Vrabel, who spent some time chatting with Baker after practice.

So far though two practices Baker has had a solid workload - he's been the one receiver that seems to be regularly working with all three quarterbacks. That's come with mixed results, as he tries to make a push for a roster spot in a crowded wide receiver room.

Just like in the last open practice, each kicker got four field goal attempts in a live period. The first two each were from about 40 yards, while the other two were about 10 yards deeper.

John Parker Romo went first in the back-and-forth, and hit all four of his kicks (although one went right over the left upright and was a close call). Rookie Andres Borregales went three for four, hooking one wide to the left from about 45.

The Patriots were without four players for Wednesday's practice. The most notable was Stefon Diggs, after a video circulated of him on social media on a boat at a party with an unknown pink substance. It wasn't made clear if the absence and video are related - Diggs was also not present for the practice open to the media last week. Vrabel addressed the video and Diggs' absence in his pre-practice press conference, saying the team was aware of the video.

Tight end Austin Hooper, offensive tackle Caedan Wallace, and cornerback Carlton Davis also weren't present. All three attended last week's open OTA.

More players were present, but limited. That group includes Rhamondre Stevenson, Trayveon Williams, Ja'Lynn Polk, Mike Onwenu, Vederian Lowe, Jahlani Tavai, Kyle Dugger, and Marcus Epps.