After a day off on Sunday the New England Patriots were back to work on Monday. While the rain pushed the team inside the FieldHouse, the pads stayed on as work was inside the red zone with a focus on the run game.
Here’s what went down throughout the competitive session.
Attendance
Absent: CB Carlton Davis III, OL Caedan Wallace (new)
Returnee: RB Terrell Jennings (NFI)
Limited: WR Kyle Williams
PUP/NFI: TE C.J. Dippre, ED Harold Landry III, S Brenden Schooler
Patriots second-year wide receiver Kyle Williams joined
practice late on Monday and did not participate after appearing to be banged up on Saturday. Offensive guard Caedan Wallace, who also suffered an injury on Saturday, was then a new absence.
The Patriots did activate running back Terrell Jennings off the NFI list. Jennings took a handful of reps in full-team work and worked as a kick returner in his first practice of the summer.
Takeaways
Jacas’ participation: After making his practice debut on Saturday, rookie pass rusher Gabe Jacas upped his participation level on Monday. Jacas took a handful of reps in full-team work and a lone 1-on-1 rep — where he beat depth tackle Lorenz Metz along the edge.
OLB coach Mike Smith did get his revenge, however, after Jacas bullrushed the coach over in drills last practice. Smith pretended to give his group instruction with Jacas next in line before tackling him down onto a pad before added some playful punches.
Best friends: With Kyle Williams sidelined, best friends Mack Hollins and Efton Chism III were active throughout the day. Hollins hauled in five passes from Tommy DeVito including three touchdowns on a slant, play-action crosser and goal line fade. The big bodied receiver was not able to pull in his lone target from Drake Maye in the end zone.
As for Chism, the slot receiver took a handful of reps with Maye’s offense in run packages but caught three passes from DeVito — including another high-point touchdown grab over Marcellas Dial in the back of the end zone.
For the rest of the wide receivers, A.J. Brown suffered a dislocated thumb after getting pressed by Christian Gonzalez in a 1-on-1 rep. Brown spent time with the trainers and put on a brace but did not miss any time as he caught three passes from Maye in full-team work. Kayshon Boutte then added two touchdown receptions from DeVito, including a fade in the end zone to end practice.
Depth corners: As veteran Carlton Davis remained sidelined, cornerback Charles Woods continued to serve as the top option opposite of Christian Gonzalez and had an impressive breakup along the goal line guarding Romeo Doubs.
New England then got a pair of younger cornerbacks increased reps as UDFA Channing Canada received a late first-team rep after a competitive day while rookie Karon Prunty continued to stack positive days by forcing an incompletion on a go-ball against A.J. Brown and nearly hauling in an interception on Behren Morton.
1-on-1s: Work transitioning inside the bubble gave a good look at the offensive and defensive lines for 1-on-1 work. Rookie tackle Caleb Lomu appeared to split his six reps, but overset and was beat inside by both Quintayvious Hutchins and Bradyn Swinson. Hutchins also had an impressive victory over Marcus Bryant as the seventh-round speed rush continues to impress.
It was also a strong day for rookie offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover, who used his length to beat Elijah Ponder while also recording a win over Swinson.
Other notes:
- After a slow start to the summer, the Patriots run game had their most competitive day of training camp on Monday. The group also had a pair of positive plays off screens. With the focus on the ground, Drake Maye threw just 14 passes with plenty of play-action and screen work.
- Rookie tight ends Eli Raridon and Tanner Arkin continued to be used with the first-team offense. Raridon had a drop in the end zone on his lone target from DeVito, but appeared to help pave the way in-line next to Morgan Moses for a long touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson.
- Veteran offensive lineman James Hudson got some work at guard on Monday. He won a 1-on-1 rep there with an impressive anchor vs. Jeremiah Pharms.
- Chad Muma had an impressive pass breakup while guarding Stevenson out of the backfield.
- Kick returners: Terrell Jennings and Efton Chism was the first duo up followed by Lan Larison, Channing Canada, Kobe Prentice, Jam Miller, and Myles Montgomery.
- The Patriots will be back on the practice fields on Tuesday, which is set to begin at 10:15 a.m. ET where the expectation is to be back in full pads.
