FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — For a team that finished 4-13 a season ago, there’s no shortage of storylines surrounding the New England Patriots. As the club reconvened for Day 1 of training camp, there was plenty to digest throughout the 90-minute session, including a check-in with No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye.
During the spring, we saw Maye begin as the third quarterback up during reps behind veterans Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe but then leaped to QB2 and looked up solely to Brissett. For a moment, it looked like the rookie may have reverted to square one as Brissett and Zappe (in that order) were the first signal-callers to roll through early drills. However, when things broke into more competitive 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 situations, Maye picked up where he left off, on the heels of Brissett. In fact, Brissett and Maye were on one practice field facing off against the presumptive first- and second-team defenses, while Zappe and rookie Joe Milton III sparred against the reserves on the other, creating a clear line of demarcation within the quarterback depth chart as camp begins.
While Maye has continued his momentum from the spring, he appears to still have a ways to go before he unseats Brissett, who first-year coach Jerod Mayo said yesterday “is the starting quarterback at this point in time.”
As the Patriots continue to experiment with the offensive line and try to piece their five best players into a starting five, it was noticeable that Brissett was playing in front of a different line than Maye. Brissett was primarily behind a line that featured Chukwuma Okorafor at left tackle, Sidy Sow at left guard, and David Andrews at his familiar center position while Michael Onwenu and Calvin Anderson were at right guard and right tackle, respectively. Meanwhile, Maye had the likes of rookie Caedan Wallace at left tackle and guard Layden Robinson at left guard during periods.
Those different groupings along the O-line suggests that New England is still piecing together its unit, but that Brissett has clear command of the first team on Day 1 as Maye was not seen taking many (or any) snaps behind that presumptive starting unit.
Again, that’s essentially what Mayo noted on Tuesday when talking about Brissett and saying he is the “most pro-ready guy we have,” suggesting an inside track at the Week 1 job, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless as camp begins.
Here are some other news and nuggets that unfolded just outside Gillette Stadium:
How Maye and Brissett fared
Speaking of quarterbacks, let’s take a quick look at how both Brissett and Maye did during those competitive drills (7-on-7s and 11-on-11s). By my count, Brissett completed 11 of his 14 passes to go along with an interception. As for Maye, he was a bit more erratic, but sprinkled in some flashy plays. He had a nice sidearm sling to JuJu Smith-Schuster during the first 11-on-11 drills and also hit Jalen Reagor on a deep shot during 7s. He finished the day completing six of his 10 passes.
Play of the day
It was Maye’s throw to Reagor that drew the biggest pop from the crowd of fans in Foxborough. During 7-on-7s, Reagor beat cornerback Azizi Hearn on a move turning up the right sideline and after gaining a step was able to make a one-handed grab that would’ve gone for a touchdown. Reagor is currently a firm bubble candidate, so plays like he made on Wednesday are certainly a step in the right direction of possibly making the 53-man roster.
Everyone accounted for
Outside of players on PUP or the NFI list, the Patriots had perfect attendance, which included defenders Matthew Judon and Davon Godchaux, who are in the final years of their contracts.
Judon speaks
As camp opened, Judon’s level of participation and whether or not he’d be a hold-in was a topic of conversation given his contract status. However, the pass rusher did participate on Wednesday and even spoke to reporters following the session. Judon responded to a peppering of questions surrounding his future and noted that if it were up to him he’d remain in New England for the foreseeable future and not be traded. He also said that he’d play on his current deal if no extension was reached. “I got to, honestly,” he said. “I signed the deal, my signature’s on it, so I got to play on it. Would I like to? No. Do I think that’s my value? No.”
Gibson’s absence doesn’t appear serious
It was noteworthy when the Patriots listed running back Antonio Gibson on the NFI list to begin camp, but it doesn’t sound like the running back will miss much time. “He’ll be back out there relatively soon,” said Mayo. “It’s more of a procedural thing that we had to go through, but at the same time, when he’s ready to go, he’ll be on the field.”
It was a relatively slow day as the Patriots opened up camp, but veteran tight end Austin Hooper was involved in the passing attack during competitive drills and even hauled in a diving reception from Brissett. Hooper, who signed with New England back in March, is competing for a spot being Hunter Henry on the tight end depth chart.
Kyle Dugger gets the first INT of camp
Kyle Dugger earned the honor of getting the first takeaway of camp, which came during the first session of competitive drills. With Brissett under center, a pass was tipped by cornerback Jonathan Jones and fell into the arms of Dugger to give the defense the turnover. While Jones contributed in coverage, Godchaux did apply pressure to help contribute to the takeaway as well.
