The Patriots will put on pads for the first time of camp on Monday, but that didn't stop the competition level from rising a day earlier. A lively crowd enjoyed its first look at some 1-on-1 drills and that period predictably led to some added intensity.
Throughout the offseason Jerod Mayo stressed the need to create competition and the early series of 1-on-1 matchups provided some opportunities to create it. The wide receivers worked against corners on one field while tight ends and running backs took on linebackers and safeties on the other.
Usually under such conditions the offense enjoys the advantage and that was the case on Sunday. But while the many completions were to be expected, it was the manner in which some of them came that stood out. The receivers consistently created some separation on both intermediate and deep routes, and some of them came against the Patriots top corners.
Javon Baker, Kayshon Boutte and Jalen Reagor were noticeable in this regard, finding ways to get open and making some difficult catches look easy. Baker even got the better of Christian Gonzalez on one deep crossing route that fell incomplete, but still showed the rookie's ability to separate. His highlight came on a deep ball from Jacoby Brissett that saw him track the pass with ease to make an over-the-shoulder grab, drawing a huge response from the crowd.
"Jacoby threw a great ball. I was just trying to have a little fun with the fans," Baker said after practice. "I'm just out here trying to prove that I'm NFL ready. The NFL is all about 1-on-1 matchups."
It's worth noting that the rookie took that momentum from the early success into both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods and was consistently open throughout the day.
As for the earlier period, Baker wasn't alone. Boutte enjoyed a solid day as well, finding openings and making some tough catches. He was able to outfight Jonathan Jones on a slant from Drake Maye during the second of two 11-on-11 periods, showing great toughness in traffic.
Reagor's speed has been apparent throughout camp and he once again was open deep on a few occasions. Tyquan Thornton also had some production, most notably on a quick route from Brissett in full team action.
The secondary had its moments as well, displaying much tighter coverage when things switched to 7-on-7 and 11-on-11. Marcus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Gonzalez worked together again, while Alex Austin, Isaiah Bolden and Marco Wilson made up another group. Collectively they made completions hard to come by and consistently made the quarterbacks reload and look elsewhere before settling for short checkdowns.
The extra intensity seemed to carry over into the 11-on-11 action as on the second play, an Antonio Gibson run off tackle, ended with some pushing and shoving between offensive and defensive linemen. Probably a good indication that the competitive juices were flying on both sides.
Beyond the first 1-on-1 work of the summer, here are one man's observations from Day 4 of training camp.
*The day off did little to change the state of the PUP list as Kendrick Bourne (knee), Cole Strange (knee), Sione Takitaki and Jake Andrews all remained out of action. However, Bourne was on the field wearing his No. 84 jersey and was his exuberant self, dancing around during warmups before heading to the lower rehab field. Perhaps his presence in uniform is a sign that he will be activated soon. Christian Barmore and Marte Mapu were not spotted at the start of practice. Both have been dealing with health issues thus far as neither has seen much action. Mapu joined his teammates on the field about 30 minutes into practice but watched the proceedings from the sidelines.
*Antonio Gibson donned a helmet for the first time in camp and took part fully in the practice. He had been relegated to rehab work but saw his first action, taking some handoffs and coming out of the backfield as a receiver on numerous occasions. Running back Terrell Jennings, who also had been limited, also saw his first reps in full team action and showed a nice burst on one carry late in the day.
*Cornerback Shawn Wade was in a red, non-contact jersey for the second straight practice. He took part in most of practice, but did not work against the offense.
*The Patriots announced the signing of Josiah Bronson, a 27-year-old defensive tackle out of Washington. Bronson spent the spring playing in the UFL with Memphis, recording 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 10 games. The 6-3, 295-pounder was originally an undrafted rookie with New Orleans in 2021 and also had stints with Cleveland, Dallas and Miami. Bronson has appeared in eight games in his career, six with the Saints.
*Second-year wide receiver DeMario Douglas is still dealing with a minor injury as he has yet to take part in any work against the defense. He goes through positional drills, catching passes and punts, but then runs sprints across the far end zone when the offense takes part in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods. That was the case again on Sunday, and after practice he confirmed that he's dealing with a hand injury and is being held out as a precaution.
*The offensive line featured some cohesion for the first time this summer. Caedan Wallace remained at left tackle while Chuks Okorafor lined up at right tackle. That was the case on Friday as well, and the interior three of Sidy Sow, David Andrews and Mike Onwenu have been in place all four days. That group fared better in pass protection on Sunday than had been the case earlier in camp. There were still some breakdowns but definitely fewer than the first three days. It will be interesting to see if Mayo keeps that quintet together for Monday's full-padded practice.
*It wasn't just the wide receivers who enjoyed the competition of the 1-on-1s. Tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper also stood out. Henry got the better of Jabrill Peppers on one rep and Hooper came away with several receptions. Hooper's best moments came later, however, as he made several grabs in both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods. In fact, he may have turned in the best play of camp thus far when he was on the receiving end of a bullet from Brissett to kick off the final set of full team work. Brissett executed a hard play action, turned his eyes downfield and fired a deep seam to Hooper, who caught the pass in stride for what would have been a solid gain. Hooper has enjoyed a fine start to camp and looks like he will be a part of the offense, which makes sense given his familiarity with Alex Van Pelt's system from their time together in Cleveland.
*Mayo devoted his first period to special teams when the punt team got some work in the middle of practice. Bryce Baringer was bombing his kicks throughout, making life difficult on returners Reagor, Douglas, Marcus Jones, Ja'Lynn Polk and K.J. Osborn. While that was taking place, equipment staff were spiking and rolling volleyballs inside the 5-yard line to create scenarios where the gunners would try to down punts near the goal line. On the ones that were spiked, one player would leap to keep it out of the end zone, directing the ball toward his teammate to down it.
*The kickers closed practice with some field goals and Joey Slye had his first attempt from 34 yards out clank off the upright. Chad Ryland appeared to be perfect on his kicks while Slye had just the one misfire. (Disclaimer: It can be difficult to judge the accuracy of field goals from the angle we watch from).
*After not running the hills on Friday, the Patriots spent about 10 minutes running sprints to close out practice on Sunday.
*In addition to Baker, Boutte, Douglas, Thornton, Caedan Wallace, Brenden Schooler and Deatrich Wise all spoke with the media after practice.
*The Patriots are expected to be in full pads for Monday's workout, which will kick off once again at 11 a.m. The practice is open to the public with gates set to open at 10 a.m.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
