FOXBOROUGH, Mass – After a day off, the New England Patriots returned to the field for the fifth training camp practice, but this one was different as it was the first day in pads for the players. With cloud conditions and some rain pouring down at times throughout practice, it was a good day of work.
"I just think it’s the next step for us," head coach Mike Vrabel said. "It’s another opportunity to come out there, really start to come together and see how the fundamentals and all the technique work that the guys have tried to put in through the offseason and through the early part of camp."
"But whether that’s young players, tight ends or the opportunity to run, this is good work for us," he added. "To be able to work in the weather, work in elements,
stay up, work our footing, to be able to play, operate and take care of the football."
Here are the top takeaways from Day 5 of training camp:
1. Christian Gonzalez is a full participant
A contract extension has not yet happened for Christian Gonzalez despite Robert Kraft saying publicly that they offered him a deal that would make him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL and the highest-paid player in franchise history. But that's not stopping the star cornerback from giving it his all in practices ahead of the 2026 season.
While many in his position would hold in or hold out, he's doing neither, instead being a full participant, including on Thursday, which was the first padded practice of the summer.
“I don’t think his participation is going to change. I haven’t heard anything,” Vrabel said of his expectations for Gonzalez before practice. “I thought he has come out and looked good, looked exactly how we would expect him to look, and came in ready to go. Executing the multiple coverages, and when he is in match, he has been close to his guy. I think the one thing we’ve tried to challenge him on is some of the other opportunities where he can go and use his athleticism, his speed, his length, and his instincts to go make plays.
“There’s going to be times where he’s going to be matched up, and there’s going to be times where he’s going to have other opportunities. Some of that has shown up early on in camp, and hopefully that continues.”
2. Christian Gonzalez dominates 1v1s
With it being the first day in pads, those in attendance finally got their first look at 1-vs-1s between the running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends against the cornerbacks. And it was Gonzalez who dominated, finishing by winning three out of his four reps, only giving up one pass to A.J. Brown. He also broke up a pass attempt from Drake Maye to Brown, while defending Boutte prevented him from making his two catch attempts during this drill. As for the 11-on-11 drills, Maye targeted Brown twice and connected once.
As for how others did during the 1-vs-1s, Mack Hollins won both of his matchups, while Charles Woods had an impressive showing, winning two of his three matchups.
3. Drake Maye - A.J. Brown connection is getting better
Throughout the early days of training camp, the Maye and Brown connection has had some struggles, with Maye going 4-of-9 with an interception when targeting the star receiver. However, the two took a major step forward, with Maye targeting Brown five times during the team periods and connecting on four of those attempts. Among those were two touchdowns.
The one miss was actually the first play of the team period in which Maye sent the ball to Brown with Christian Gonzalez, but it was overthrown.
4. Kyle Williams delivers the play of the day (x2)
It's been Kayshon Boutte who has delivered the plays of the day in the past few practices, but on Thursday, it was Williams who had two impressive catches, both of which came from Tommy DeVito. The first one was a one-handed grab over Kobee Minor, while the second one was a nice catch over veteran Kindle Vildor.
“Me and Kyle were talking yesterday, and I said everybody’s going to make plays but don’t let that affect your opportunities,” Boutte said. “One practice might be one catch, next practice might be four. It varies. You never know. I told him to make the most of your opportunities, and I saw him today, he caught two touchdowns.”
5. Rookie tight ends impress
With Julian Hill's injury, the expectation is that Eli Raridon will step up and fill that role as the No. 2 tight end. And despite a slower start, he is certainly starting to find his footing. Raridon finished Thursday's practice with one catch from Maye and one from DeVito.
“I think things are starting to slow down for me,” Raridon said. “Obviously, I’m not 100 percent acclimated with the offense, but compared to the spring, it’s a night and day difference, so it’s going well.”
Undrafted free agent Tanner Arkin is also emerging as an intriguing option for the Patriots as he's had some very impressive blocks during the 11-on-11 sessions.
6. Run defense dominates
While the Patriots aren't tackling despite being in pads, the way the defense has swallowed up the run game has been clear. Despite a few runs that have found a hole up the middle, especially by TreVeyon Henderson and undrafted rookie Myles Montgomery, there wasn't a lot of consistency during the team periods.
7. Quarterback stats
After the defense clearly won on Tuesday, the offense bounced back, with Drake Maye and Tommy DeVito putting together some impressive plays with multiple receivers.
Drake Maye: 7-of-8
Tommy DeVito: 5-of-7
Behren Morton: 3-of-3
8. Attendance
After appearing to get injured during 7-on-7s during Tuesday's training camp session, cornerback Carlton Davis did not take part in the first day of padded practice. He was joined by another cornerback, Brandon Crossley, to make up the only absences other than those on the PUP and NFI lists.
Absent: CB Carlton Davis III, CB Brandon Crossley
NFI: OLB Gabe Jacas, RB Terrell Jennings, S Brenden Schooler
PUP: OLB Harold Landry III, TE CJ Dippre
What's Next?
The Patriots will be back on the fields on Friday, July 31, for their sixth training camp session, slated to begin at 10:15 a.m. ET. Six players are scheduled to speak with the media including Maye, DeVito, Rhamondre Stevenson, Charles Woods, Efton Chism and Chad Muma.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: 8 takeaways from Day 5 of training camp: First padded practice
