Coming off a walkthrough on Monday, the New England Patriots increased the intensity and competition again on Tuesday. The full-padded session lasted about 90 minutes and featured plenty of full-team work.
To recap the 17th practice of the summer, please head over to our Patriots training camp notebook. In the meantime, here is who caught our eyes.
Standout of the day
QB Drake Maye: It’s hard to look past the Patriots’ starting quarterback for player of the day honors today. Simply speaking, the third-year passer was
splendid. Maye completed 15 of his 17 pass attempts during 11-on-11 team drills, with his connection with wide receivers A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs in particular looking promising.
The MVP runner-up was at his best to close out the session, though, taking his unit down the field for a scoring drive that started at his own 20-yard line with 1:15 on the clock. He spread the ball around well, connecting Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Rhamondre Stevenson to move into field goal range. Maye was accurate, made good decisions with the ball, looked calm under pressure, and very much was the player the team is hoping to get on a weekly basis this season.
Other performances of note
RB3: The competition for the Patriots’ third running back spot keeps evolving, with recently-signed Hassan Haskins and JaMycal Hasty the next men up behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson on Monday. It could have just been a case of “let’s see what we have there” but it was still a noteworthy development within the context of the position battle. The same is true for rookie Jam Miller repped exclusively working with the third team.
WR A.J. Brown and WR Romeo Doubs: As noted above, the connection between Drake Maye and his newest weapons continues to grow by the day. On Monday, it looked like they had been playing together for years. Maye and Brown hooked up on a 70-ish-yard touchdown that was perfectly executed by both, whereas Doubs hauled in a team-leading four receptions during 11s.
LB Namdi Obiazor: A week ago, Chad Muma and Khalil Jacobs looked like the frontrunners to earn the depth spots at linebacker. However, the picture was a different one Monday. With Muma absent and Jacobs used as a second-stringer, fifth-round rookie Namdi Obiazor joined the starter-level group. He didn’t stand out in any meaningful way, but he looks the part from a size and athleticism perspective.
The Patriots will be back on Tuesday for what is expected to be another walkthrough. The session will be closed to the general public, but Pats Pulpit will be there to have you covered.
