Emptying the notebook from Patriots minicamp

The New England Patriots have concluded their spring workouts and open practices. Next time we see them on the field will be during training camp, which begins Wednesday, July 23.

Despite the Pats holding non-padded practices during their two open minicamps on Monday and Tuesday, there were some highly competitive periods and plenty of details to pull from throughout the workouts. Here's the rest of the notebook from minicamp, as we turn the page toward the 2025 season...

There are two ways you could look at the way competitive drills went for the Patriots in Tuesday's minicamp practice. The good news for the Pats is that Mike Vrabel's defensive front looks aggressive, explosive, and versatile. The bad news, and a capital-C concern, is the struggles of the Patriots' offensive line to contain them.

Tuesday was a possible glimpse of what could happen when the Pats' pass protectors, despite offseason upgrades, face a real challenge against an opposing pass-rush. Reinforcements are in at the edge spots with athletic rookie Will Campbell and steady veteran Morgan Moses, but the interior is populated by a stopgap veteran center (Garrett Bradbury) who's never been a great pass-protector in the first place, and a big fat question mark at left guard.

Mike Onwenu is expected to anchor the right guard spot, his natural position, but he had a shaky day on Tuesday himself, which we'll get to later.

^{L-R: Patriots tackle Morgan Moses, guard Mike Onwenu}

Campbell and Moses are actually less cause for concern, based on minicamp. Even just competent tackle play should be a marked upgrade over the fire drill the team has endured at those critical positions in recent years. Vrabel also noted before Monday's practice that it's hard to evaluate line play before the pads go on, and so there's still plenty of time for the group to gel.

But Tuesday's practice could be a preview of what it's going to look like when the new-look Patriots O-line faces a talented rush. While this unit should be at least marginally better than last season, it seems that there's still a lot of room for improvement.

The flip-side of Tuesday's competitive 11-on-11 drills is that the Patriots look like they're really going to get after quarterbacks. Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, especially, look like they have a chance to wreak havoc on the interior. Barmore looks lean and quick, as he enters this season a full go after recovering from blood clots.

We already knew the Patriots were going to evolve their defensive front into more of a one-gapping system, and that was on full display on Tuesday. Guys consistently cut through gaps on their first step, most notably when Barmore swiped by Onwenu's inside shoulder and split him and Bradbury for inside pressure. Drake Maye barely got off a dump-off pass on the play, but in a real game, he was getting sacked or flushed out of the pocket.

Another notable development watching the Patriots' front-seven practice up close was the way they timed the snap count, as they looked to get running starts off the line. Linebacker Harold Landry could be seen working on this multiple times. There might have even been a play or two that would've been an offside penalty, so that's something they'll have to fine-tune before the season.

^{L-R: Keion White, Mike Vrabel, K'Lavon Chaisson}

It's possible the pressure was getting to Maye, because on the next play after Barmore beat Onwenu inside, Maye heaved up a prayer to rookie receiver Kyle Williams down the right sideline. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez, whom Maye said he was eager to test in drills, corralled a one-handed interception.

The Patriots are also expected to mix up their alignments on the defense, as they look to hunt mistmatches and confuse opposing protection schemes. LInemen and linebackers moved all around the line, and even swapped spots at times. Expect a lot of different looks from this front-seven, on top of speed and aggression off the snap.

Maye had a promising practice on Monday, most notably showing consistent accuracy down the field. He's certainly capable of dropping dimes to the intermediate and deep parts of the field, but he hasn't always executed those throws consistently.

Tuesday would represent a step back. Though the issues for the offense started with the line, Maye also had a few plays he'd like to have back. There was the aforementioned interception, and he also had a curiously inaccurate attempt over the middle toward Kayshon Boutte. Maye uncorked a low throw about 15 yards down the field, despite being upright in the pocket. Maye also sailed a high ball through the end zone toward a double-covered Hunter Henry, a questionable decision as well as throw.

^{Drake Maye}

It's possible Maye was throwing it away, but from our vantage point, the ball was close enough that the quarterback looked like he was trying to squeeze a touchdown into a tight window. So, Maye himself will have some finer points to work on when he gets back to team drills in training camp.

-- Left guard remains arguably the most wide-open position battle on the team. If I were forced to pick a leader in the clubhouse, I'd go with fourth-year pro Cole Strange. But Sidy Sow and Layden Robinson are still candidates, despite working with the second and third-string offenses. December free-agent addition Tyrese Robinson has also gotten a look. Rookie Jared Wilson projects as a center, but could be a dark horse candidate. The retirement of veteran Wes Schweitzer has thinned the competition.

-- Interesting devleopment at left guard in minicamp: second-year lineman Caedan Wallace got some work as the second-string LG, working between rookie left tackle Marcus Bryant and center Ben Brown. Ideally, Wallace would still pan out as a future right tackle, but he'd have good size and length for a guard (6-foot-5, 314 pounds, 34-inch arms). So, he should be considered an outside candidate for the starting left guard job as well.

-- As alluded to earlier, look for the Patriots to epmloy plenty of different looks off the edge on defense. We've seen Landry, White, Barmore, Williams, Christian Elliss, and K'Lavon Chaisson used in edge roles during team drills, and Jabrill Peppers was credited for a pressure with a safety blitz on one play. On top of their aggressive style, the Pats are going to be diverse up front, as well. They have a chance to be an overwhelming challenge for opposing offenses.

^{Christian Elliss (53), Jack Gibbens (51)}

-- Landry, Chaisson, Elliss, Robert Spillane, and Jack Gibbens look like the top-five linebackers coming out of minicamp (not necessarily in that order). Rookie Bradyn Swinson is also listed as a linebacker, but projects as a pure edge rusher. Meanwhile, holdovers Anfernee Jennings and Jahlani Tavai seem to be regressing toward the background, and their futures in New England should be in question entering training camp.

-- Stefon Diggs caught two passes from Maye during a lighter walkthrough-style 11-on-11 session, his first action in team drills in front of reporters. He acknowledged that he's still not cleared to fully participate in competitive team drills, and it's unclear whether he's officially passed a physical as a provision of his contract (Diggs himself didn't seem to know).

Diggs would be a roster lock provided he passes that physical, and he looks spry on the field, so we're still expecting him to ultimately pass and be ready for Week 1. But that's still not resolved and it's something to keep monitoring as we look toward training camp.

^{L-R: Kayshon Boutte, Stefon Diggs}

-- Kyle Williams is as advertised, for better and for worse. He explodes off the line of scrimmage and has quick feet. He has a chance to be the starting "X" outside receiver from day one. The other side of that coin, is that holding onto the ball and finishing catches are concerns.

Williams could've caught a touchdown from backup QB Joshua Dobbs during a red zone 11-on-11 period on Tuesday, but he couldn't get both feet in bounds at the back-left corner of the end zone. Plus, cornerback Marcus Jones knocked the ball out of his hands at the last minute, so even with his feet in bounds, Williams couldn't complete the process. That's going to be an area of improvement for him in training camp.

-- Undrafted rookie offensive lineman Jack Conley is officially listed as a guard, but he's gotten time with the 2's at right tackle. At 6-foot-7 and 333 pounds, Conley certainly has the size to play tackle, and his arms are just over 33 inches. The BC product isn't particularly impressive from an athletic standpoint, but if he can play with superior technique, he could be a dark horse to make the team as a backup guard/tackle hybrid.

-- Look for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to restore the fullback to the equation for the Patriots offense. Undrafted rookie Brock Lampe, who wears a James Develin 46 on his jersey, is the only official FB on the Pats' roster. So he should be popping up in some roster projections over the next few months.

^{L-R: Drake Maye, Josh McDaniels}

-- Despite Rhamondre Stevenson's presence as an incumbent running back and familiarity with McDaniels, dynamic rookie second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson feels like the lead dog at running back for now. His speed and burst smacked reporters in the face on Tuesday, as we got to watch him work from the sideline. Provided Maye and McDaniels can get him the ball, he should be a dangerous player when he has it.

-- Not to be outdone by Gonzalez on Tuesday, third-year cornerback Isaiah Bolden made the best defensive play of practice on Monday. He jumped a short route and took advantage of a relatively low throw by Dobbs for an interception that he took all the way down the left sideline. It was a red-zone drill, so the play would've had legit pick-six potential in a real game.

A forgotten prospect after a scary injury essentially robbed him of his first two seasons, Bolden has a real chance to make the team as a reserve corner in year three.

-- Despite the talent and the explosiveness we saw in the Patriots' defensive front in minicamp, they did have substitution issues at times. There were multiple plays when player groupings tried to come onto the field at the wrong time, and Vrabel had to wave them back to the sidelines. Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams are installing what looks like a complex set of personnel packages, and the players still need to get those down.

^{Mike Vrabel (center)}

-- Free safety is another spot that feels wide-open. We've seen Peppers, Jaylinn Hawkins, Dell Pettus, Marcus Epps, and rookie Craig Woodson used deep. Kyle Dugger is just getting back into team drills recently, but he should be more of a box safety, anyway.

Epps has also been slow to get back to full participation, so we're keeping a close eye on him as a deep safety candidate that signed as a free agent in the offseason, seemingly to play that specific role. This position group is one of the most undetermined on the roster entering training camp.

-- The Patriots made great use of pinnies over their jerseys in their spring practices. Only the quarterbacks are wearing red non-contact jerseys, while other players seem to be wearing yellow pinnies to indicate non-contact. Wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk took part in some team drills while wearing a yellow pinny.

Vrabel, meanwhile, at times has donned a green pinny. Assistant coaches have worn them as well, in lighter team drills based more on coaching up player positioning, rather than anything physical.

^{Mike Vrabel}

-- No surprise here, but rookie kicker Andy Borregales remains in the lead over John Parker Romo. Borregales was perfect on field goal tries on Tuesday from 40, 45, and 50 yards, while Romo missed left from 50.

-- Wednesday, July 23 is the official start of open practices at Patriots training camp. Those are traditionally open to both the general public and the media. We'll have more details for you on those practices as they become available.