Mac Jones looks and sounds relaxed and confident. (Photo by Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)

The New England Patriots held their second practice of 2023 mandatory minicamp in Foxboro on Tuesday. Here’s who stood out on the field, in both good ways and bad ways…

QB Mac Jones

Mac Jones (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Mixed bag for Mac in this practice. He had the best throw of the day with an absolute dime to tight end Mike Gesicki in 7-on-7, and had a couple of nice connections with wide receiver DeVante Parker deep down the field. Mac has generally looked good throwing to the perimeter, which is an area where his accuracy and timing haven’t always been crisp.

Unfortunately, Mac was also at the helm of an ugly sequence for the starting offense in the most competitive 11-on-11 period of the day, which came against starters on defense. The first snap he had to scramble, then he had to make a throwaway, and he had a pass batted at the line that he actually caught and scrambled with afterward.

Mac recovered with better throws later in team drills, especially to Parker and tight end Hunter Henry, and the rough stretch seemed more like a problem with the offensive line. But Mac didn’t exactly make up for those problems, either. Too early to make a big judgment, but that bad stretch stood out.
WR DeVante Parker

DeVante Parker (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)

Parker caught a “touchdown” deep down the left sideline, a contested grab against Jonathan Jones in coverage. He made another dynamic leaping catch in 7-on-7 during a later period. Parker also stood out in his post-practice press conference, when he got testy about DeAndre Hopkins questions.

The veteran wideout obviously would view Hopkins as a threat to his reps and potentially his job, so you can’t blame him for getting salty. What’s important for him is he showed out on the field in practice. Seems like he knows he needs to perform.
TE Mike Gesicki

Mike Gesicki of the New England Patriots runs during a drill with quarterback Mac Jones during 2023 minicamp in Foxboro. (Matt Dolloff/98.5 The Sports Hub)
As mentioned above, Gesicki and Mac Jones had the best throw-and-catch of the day with a drop in the bucket during 7-on-7. If that were a real catch, Gesicki might have been able to take it to the house. Gesicki has been one of the most consistently impressive players on the whole team in the practices we’ve been able to cover.

It’s certainly too soon to get too excited – especially because Jonnu Smith looked good in his first camp here, too – but Gesicki is a more natural pass-catcher than Smith and seems like a great fit for the Patriots’ new Bill O’Brien-run offense.
DT Christian Barmore

Christian Barmore (Matt Dolloff/98.5 The Sports Hub)

It took a little while for Barmore to get going in these open practices, but he’s been a problem for the Pats’ offensive linemen in recent days. He had two more batted passes in 11-on-11 on Tuesday, including one that bounced right back to Mac Jones and forced the quarterback to scramble.

Barmore has already drawn a lot of attention from opposing offenses in his first two seasons. But if he can break through that and be a real productive game-changer in year 3, that would be a massive development for a Patriots team that’s been thin on impact playmakers overall for the past few years.
CB Jack Jones

Jack Jones (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA Today Network)
Jack Jones gets a nod from this practice, mainly just because of his usage and where he lined up. He was opposite Jonathan Jones on the boundary for most of the reps for the starting defense. He has yet to really flash his obvious playmaking ability on the ball, but there also haven’t been a ton of opportunities for that.

Rookie Christian Gonzalez has gotten plenty of looks with the starters as well, but if Jack Jones can pick up steam and stay on the field, the Pats might have not one but two ascending impact players at outside corner.
OT Calvin Anderson

Calvin Anderson (Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports)

Trent Brown was finally present for practice on Tuesday, but didn’t participate in any team drills. Anderson has been the top left tackle throughout OTAs and minicamp, and while that might not necessarily be a good thing for the unit overall, he deserves mention for earning his spot as the top blindside protector (so far).
OT Sidy Sow

Sidy Sow (Eastern Michigan Athletics)
We’re listing Sow as a tackle at this point. Because while we can’t confirm whether he’s exclusively lined up at right tackle, that’s where Sow has played the majority of his snaps. The Patriots might have a tackle problem, but if Sow can make quick progress through the summer, he might be the unexpected solution.
G/C Jake Andrews

Jake Andrews (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The rookie gets a tip of the cap for a second straight day, because he’s starting to show his versatility. Jake Andrews lined up next to David Andrews at right guard in place of the injured Mike Onwenu (ankle surgery), and also played center with the backups.

The younger Andrews might not get a ton of actual playing time as a rookie, but he’s putting serious pressure on James Ferentz and others to be the team’s top backup interior lineman.
KR Isaiah Bolden

Isaiah Bolden (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
We’re listing Bolden as a kick returner here, because that’s the reason he was a standout. He got reps along with fellow rookie Ed Lee during kick return drills, a good sign for both of them that they have an opportunity to fill that role.

But as a seventh-round pick, Bolden certainly stood out to the Patriots for some reason at the draft. Maybe this is it.
LS Tucker Addington

Tucker Addington (Matt Dolloff/98.5 The Sports Hub)

Addington stood out in a bad way on Tuesday. He botched a snap during a punt return drill. Rookie Bryce Baringer wasn’t able to handle the snap, which clearly veered too much to his left.

Not the most important spot on the roster, obviously. But Addington can’t be making mistakes like that if he has any hope of beating out Joe Cardona for the long snapper role.
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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.