The New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings were back on the TCO Performance Center practice fields in Eagan, MN, on Thursday for their second joint practice of the week. From a Patriots perspective, this one did not go as well as the first.
You can recap all the action here. As for our traditional rundown of who caught our eyes for better or worse, it looks as follows.
Standout of the day
Offensive line: For the first 15 practices of training camp, we always recognized a positive performance as our standout of the day.
But, you can also stand out for all the wrong reasons — which is precisely what New England’s offensive line did on Thursday. So, here we are.
Obviously, the group’s inexperience especially on the left side did not help; rookie tackle Will Campbell had a bad day that included three sacks given up in an 11-play span at one point, while guard Ben Brown was unexpectedly inserted into the starting lineup following Jared Wilson’s exit. Also not helping was the fact that Minnesota’s defense is simply pretty darn good.
Still, the unit as a whole had a rough outing and put forward a performance than can best be described as unacceptable: even considering the at-times unfavorable circumstances, the crew needs to perform better than it did in order for New England to have a functioning offense. On Thursday, the team barely had that. And as Patriots fans know all too well from the last two years in particular, things can go downhill fast when the blocking is not up to the task.
Other performances of note
QB Joshua Dobbs: One day after being singled out for his struggles, Dobbs finds himself on our list again. This time, because the Patriots’ backup quarterback showed some mental toughness and playmaking ability. While he was still impacted by some of the same blocking issues mentioned above, the 30-year-old also manage to make some of New England’s best plays of the day and threw four touchdown passes in red area work.
WR Efton Chism III: The undrafted rookie has become a regular on our list of noteworthy performances, and for good reason. Chism continues to show why he is deserving of consideration as a backup wide receiver option. On Thursday, he caught a pair of touchdowns from Joshua Dobbs and also won both of his 1-on-1s. While he has yet to fully crack the top rotation, the arrow keeps pointing up.
DT Christian Barmore and DT Milton Williams: Reunited at last, sort of. After sitting out team work on Wednesday, Barmore was back as a full participant and immediately made his presence felt; he was the most disruptive player on the defensive side of the ball and was charted with two sacks in team drills. Williams also pushed the pocket well, even though his highlight of the day was a dominant 1-on-1 rep rather than any flashy work in 11s.
CB Marcus Jones: Matching up Marcus Jones with T.J. Hockenson was not a fair fight simply due to the fact that the Patriots slot cornerback is giving up nine inches to the Vikings tight end. Him drawing the assignment at times was symptomatic of a bigger problem — New England’s tight end coverage is looking like a potential Achilles heel for the team — but Jones had issues regardless of who he lined up against. The consequence? Three touchdowns given up in team drills, plus two extra catches.
S Kyle Dugger: Even Jabrill Peppers leaving the session early did nothing to change Dugger’s status. The former starter remains in the doghouse and on Thursday found himself behind Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson, and even Dell Pettus. Then again, he did break up a potential touchdown in 7-on-7s, so his day wasn’t all disappointing.
Other players worth mentioning include Drake Maye, who looked good when given the opportunity to run the offense unimpeded. Kayshon Boutte made arguably the play of the day when he caught a last-ditch heave from his quarterback to close out practice, while DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams both dealt with a case of the drops. Parker Romo also cannot feel too good about Thursday: the former Viking did not get a chance to attempt any kicks after Andy Borregales went 4-for-5 on Wednesday.
The Patriots will hold their traditional pre-game walkthrough on Friday, which will not be open to the public. They will then square off against the Vikings on Saturday for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff at U.S. Bank Stadium.
