The New England Patriots kicked off their second and final week of organized team activities on Monday, and were back on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. For the second time this spring, the media was present to watch from start to finish as well.
And while OTAs do not include any pads or live contact, there was still plenty to take away from the event.
Attendance
Absentees: WR Kayshon Boutte, ED Harold Landry III, ED Gabe Jacas, CB Christian Gonzalez, CB Carlton Davis III, CB Marcus Jones
Non-participants: WR Kyle Dixon, ED Bradyn Swinson, LB K.J. Britt, CB Charles Woods
Injured: OT Morgan Moses
Limited: OG Alijah Vera-Tucker, CB Marcellas Dial Jr.
Veteran offensive tackle Morgan Moses walked off the practice field with members of the training staff and eventually departed after spending time in the medical shed. There was no notable injury before his departure.
The rest New England’s attendance looked similarly to last week’s session, with cornerback Christian Gonzalez remaining as the most notable player not in attendance. Fellow cornerback Marcus Jones was a new absence, while rookie Gabe Jacas has still not suited up since being drafted in April.
After leaving last week’s practice early, both Bradyn Swinson and K.J. Britt were non-participants. Starting left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and cornerback Marcellas Dial Jr. remained limited as they work back from injuries.
Takeaways
A.J.’s arrival: Following Monday’s trade that brought him from Philadelphia to New England, wide receiver A.J. Brown passed his physical and made his first appearance as a Patriot on Tuesday. Brown participated in positional drills before taking just a handful of reps in full-team work as he continues to get acclimated. His first full-team rep on the field: a completion from Drake Maye on a hitch route on the outside.
O-line shuffling: With Morgan Moses departing earlier, rookie Caleb Lomu and Marcus Bryant held down the right tackle position for the rest of practice. As Alijah Vera-Tucker then continued to work off to the side in full-team drills, Ben Brown received the left guard reps in between Jared Wilson and Will Campbell. With Brown also getting some occasional work at center, Andrew Rupcich filled in at left guard again.
Slots shine: After leading all pass catchers with four catches on five targets last week, DeMario Douglas was active again on Tuesday with four more receptions — including one deep completion on a coverage bust. Douglas also appeared to be the target on an incompletion following a miscommunication with Maye, though. In addition to Pop, second-year slot option Efton Chism III continued to be a reliable target with four catches as well. While all of Chism’s receptions came from Tommy DeVito, the receiver saw his fair share of snaps with Maye’s unit as well.
QB report: It was an all around OK day in the office for Drake Maye. The quarterback was largely accurate underneath and exploited two coverage busts to find completions downfield to Douglas and Hunter Henry on a pretty seam ball. Maye did have some high misses and several passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. Behind him, backup Tommy DeVito had an impressive afternoon including several throws on the move. Rookie Behren Morton did not take any reps during team periods.
Other notes:
- Jack Westover filled in as the TE2 behind Hunter Henry with Julian Hill on injured reserve. Rookie Eli Raridon had two catches and a drop with the second unit including a strong downfield completion.
- Mack Hollins fulfilled his usual role in the offense upon his return. Kyle Williams mixed in with both units finishing with two catches.
- There was plenty of shuffling along the backup offensive line. Among the lineups included James Hudson seeing time at guard and rookie Dametrious Crownover recording snaps at left tackle.
- There were three total passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, with Leonard Taylor III recording two of them. Taylor has been active throughout two open practices.
- Down their top four cornerbacks, Kobee Minor got extended run in the slot and nearly intercepted a pass towards Romeo Doubs.
- The Patriots’ next and final OTA session is scheduled for Thursday, June 4 — which will be closed to the media — before mandatory minicamp begins next week. Mike Vrabel announced on Tuesday that the event had been moved up to June 9-11.
