Tuesday’s opening practice of mandatory minicamp marked the first time all offseason that the New England Patriots’ entire available roster was on the field together. And while all eyes were on returnees Christian Gonzalez and Kayshon Boutte, they were not the main characters once the session actually began.
With that said, here are four players who caught our eyes from the Gillette Stadium practice fields. Also, for a comprehensive recap of the session, please head over to our Patriots minicamp notebook.
Standout of the day
QB Drake Maye: Out of his three practices in front of the media so far this offseason, Tuesday’s was Maye’s best. The third-year quarterback was efficient with the ball and in four competitive team periods completed 19 of 22 pass attempts, with one incompletion being an aborted play due to a blitz. He was decisive and accurate (especially over the middle of the field), spread the ball around well between his targets, and hit Hunter Henry and Rhamondre Stevenson on downfield touchdowns.
“We have seen growth in a lot of players, especially some of the younger ones, which I would consider Drake going into his third year,” said head coach Mike Vrabel ahead of the session. “I think that Josh [McDaniels] and Ashton [Grant] have given him some really positive things to work on, some areas of focus, and being able to try to limit mistakes at the line of scrimmage.”
Other performances of note
WR A.J. Brown: Drake Maye’s newest weapon had a solid day, finishing with a pair of catches from the starting QB, including a touchdown on a high-point fade. More so than his actual performance, Brown’s usage caught our eye. He naturally was actively involved with the starters and upped his workload from his first week as a Patriot, but he also was part of an intriguing three-receiver package at one point that featured him at the Z with Kayshon Boutte as the X and DeMario Douglas in the slot.
TE Hunter Henry: Henry has been a go-to target for Drake Maye throughout their two seasons together, and if Tuesday is any indication little is expected to change heading into 2026. The team captain was the starting offense’s busiest receiver, hauling in four catches including a deep touchdown on a corner route. As far as tight ends are concerned, the 31-year-old is unsurprisingly head and shoulders above the rest of the group.
LG Alijah Vera-Tucker: The Patriots’ free agency signing continues to be on a rehabilitation timeline working his way back from a season-ending triceps injury. However, Tuesday saw him increase his participation: after not partaking in full-team drills during the two organized team activities open to reporters, he saw some reps at his left guard spot. There is no real judging his performance in a no-contact environment, but he nonetheless appears to be trending in the right direction.
LB Robert Spillane: Spillane was the Patriots’ best linebacker in 2025 and a crucial piece of the defensive operation, but he did have some shortcomings in coverage. On Tuesday, those reared their ugly head again: the team captain was beat twice on identical corner routes, first against Hunter Henry and later by Rhamondre Stevenson. Credit where credit is due, the offense executed very well. However, a veteran like Spillane getting beat on the same concept twice within a few reps is also not what you want to see.
CB Kindle Vildor: Even though he was present, Christian Gonzalez sat out competitive team drills. This allowed offseason pickup Kindle Vildor to see quality reps as an outside cornerback again, and the 28-year-old generally fared well. While he was beat by A.J. Brown on that touchdown mentioned earlier, he later got the better of the former All-Pro by providing tight coverage against a similar play.
Other player worth highlighting are the aforementioned Kayshon Boutte (active involvement in his return) and DeMario Douglas (team-high five total catches) first-round rookie Caleb Lomu (starting RT with Morgan Moses absent), and Tommy DeVito (good day running the second-string offense). They and the rest of the team will be back on the practice fields on Wednesday for the second of three minicamp sessions this week.
