Patriots rookies are topping today's news.
First, an ESPN blog post looks at all the members of this year’s Patriots rookie class to see how they’ve progressed to this point.
A Boston Globe feature shines a spotlight on rookie LB Ja'Whaun Bentley after a couple of solid preseason outings.
"At every level it comes down to building that trust," Bentley told the Globe. "You build trust with your teammates [so] they can depend on you, and that's anywhere. Communication is key, especially as a 'backer, getting the plays in and just communicating at a high level so everybody is on the same page."
Rookie RB Ralph Webb is the subject of a Boston.com feature.
"Those guys have real experience and they've done a great job catching me up to speed. So I don't have a lot of free time right now," he laughed while discussing his elder teammates on the running back roster.
A few veterans are being singled out today as well, including defensive end Adrian Clayborn, whom The Athletic website believes could be pivotal for the Patriots D this season.
"He's a powerful 6'3" 280-pound edge player with the size, strength, and savvy to move inside in sub situations and be just as effective as he is in his native end role. Or he can plant outside and ruin a game from there. That particular defensive body-type profile wasn't on last year's roster, simple as that," the analyst writes.
Another DE, Eric Lee, is in the mix and profiled by a local scribe on WickedLocal.com.
In The Providence Journal, you'll find an interesting piece about LB Marquis Flowers, who is more of a special teams maven.
"My expectations for myself are so high. Nobody's expectations are going to be higher than mine ever," Flowers told the ProJo. "To me, [last year] was just a little start of something, but again, last year is last year. It's a whole new year. It does nothing for me right now. I'm back at ground zero. I've got to earn the trust of my teammates and coaches all over again."
On offence, injured WR Kenny Britt (hamstring) hasn't had a chance to do much this summer and needs to prove something to the Patriots soon, according to a WEEI.com opinion piece.
Finally, if you like lists and predictions, here are a couple. The Boston Herald offers a 53-man roster projection, while Boston Sports Journal gives us 20 over-under predictions for the 2018 Patriots.
