Rookies flash in Pats’ first padded practice
Breaking down studs, duds in Foxboro
FOXBORO — The pads came on, and the hitting followed.
Real football — physical, pounding, punishing football — was finally back in Foxboro on Monday morning.
Over their first padded practice of the summer, the Patriots spent most of their time refining their run game and punt team around occasional passing periods. Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer had their reps split fairly evenly in drills and team periods. The rest of the roster rotated as expected, as two rookies stood out.
Below is a comprehensive recap of everything the Herald observed during Monday’s practice.
Attendance
Absent: DT Beau Allen, WR Jeff Thomas
PUP: RB Sony Michel, RB Lamar Miller
Limited: WR Will Hastings
Play of the Day Brian Hoyer’s bomb
In a rare rep of full-speed, 11-on-11 passing, Hoyer executed a smooth play-action fake, whipped around and stared downfield within a spacious pocket.
Bouncing with the ball, Hoyer surveyed the field before finally cocking his arm and unloading a perfect, 50-yard spiral to his right. As Hoyer’s pass began to die, second-year speedster Devin Ross throttled down just in time to collect it against the sideline, beating cornerback Joejuan Williams, who had flown straight by. Ross then maintained possession through the ground in the best victory for the offense all morning.
Player of the Day
RB Damien Harris
Over an unspectacular practice, Harris was consistent, reliable and productive. At this stage of training camp, that’s good enough.
Play after play, Harris made perfect reads during the Pats’ first live team drills dedicated to the run game. He impressively broke free several times, even if his offense was facing a collection of backups. Later on, Cam Newton trusted him with several check-down passes, including over a relaxed 2-minute drill. Harris caught every pass thrown his way.
The Alabama product looks more dynamic in his second season. No doubt, he benefited from the absences of Michel and Miller, eating up all the first reps they would have split otherwise. It’s unknown when either veteran back will return.
Until then, Harris seems intent on ensuring the running back position battle is as tight as the quarterbacks’.
QB Corner
Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive, full-speed periods only. Cam Newton: 5-6 Jarrett Stidham: 5-5 Brian Hoyer: 3-6
Studs
WR Devin Ross
Around the bomb, Ross snatched passes from the other two quarterbacks at various levels of the field. He also caught “touchdowns” from Newton and Hoyer to conclude their noncompetitive 2-minute drills. Ross’ speed will be a factor in camp.
TE Devin Asiasi
Even with a month to go until kickoff, Asiasi has and should continue to be considered the favorite to start Week 1. The third-round rookie displayed soft hands, sharp routes and enough ability to block in full pads. Perhaps best of all, during full-team special teams drills, he worked on a separate
field with the rest of the Patriots’ best skill-position players.
LB Josh Uche
After catching an early earful from Bill Belichick during a 2-on-1 tackling drill, Uche tore into the backfield during initial team periods as a blitzer. He also flashed his ridiculous get-off as an edge rusher. Uche could be a defensive weapon in waiting.
Duds
K Justin Rohrwasser
The rookie kicker went 3-of-5 during the only field goal period of practice. All his attempts were attempted from 45-47 yards. One of his makes hit an upright and sunk in.
RB J.J. Taylor
Taylor broke off as many “long runs” as Harris did (his 5-5 frame gave the defense some problems), but he also dropped a pass and a punt. For the latter mistake, he took a lap.
Offensive notes
Jarrett Stidham was the sharpest of the quarterbacks by a slim margin on a mediocre day. He fired a few ropes and showed firm command of the offense pre-snap, but also held the ball too long on several plays.
Newton, who also threw the ball well, is still learning the system, and it’s evident. He was a Checkdown Charlie during 7-on7s.
Both quarterbacks hit Julian Edelman on a deep crosser during separate team periods. It’s unclear whether their passes would have been completed, though, in a live-game scenario. Stidham’s throw beat a double team of D’Angelo Ross and Justin Bethel.
It’s safe to assume Newton will add a new dimension to the team’s running game.
Jermaine Eluemunor seems to have the inside track at right tackle. His run-blocking exceeded his pass protection, at least on Monday. In one example, Eluemunor barely touched outside linebacker Chase Winovich, who dipped straight underneath him off the edge and into a wouldbe quarterback during a pass rush drill.
Edelman and Mohamed Sanu appear ahead of the wide receiver pack, as expected.
Edelman can still block the hell out of people.
New circle of trust? During 11-on-11 special teams work, Edelman, Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Asiasi and James White caught passes from all three veteran quarterbacks in a side session.
Nice practices from left tackle Isaiah Wynn and fullback Jakob Johnson, who’s slated to start at fullback after James Develin retired and Dan Vitale opted out. Johnson was a defender destroyer.
Tight end Ryan Izzo set a few strong edges in 11-on11 run game work, drawing loud praise from the staff. He was a non-factor as a rookie last year.
Second-year backup guard/center Hjalte Froholdt showed well during team drills. He could be a vital reserve in 2020.
Need to see more from backup offensive tackle Korey Cunningham.
Second-year wide receiver Gunner Olszewski’s improved quickness and long speed were notable. He connected with Stidham on back-to-back plays during one team period.
Jakobi Meyers fumbled during one drill.
Defensive notes
The defense won a slim majority of the competitive 11-on-11 snaps.
One of its better reps was a blanketed play-action shot Newton expected to take before whirling around to see all his receivers covered. He would have been sacked in a game situation.
Quiet, solid practice from rookie safety Kyle Dugger. The Pats’ top pick projects to play back deep and in the box, at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds.
Same goes for safety Adrian Phillips, who bounced around the defense a la Patrick Chung. His versatility will be key to the secondary operating like it’s been accustomed to this year.
Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley got a ton of work, both on defense and special teams. He was barking signals constantly through practice.
Outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick wore a headset during team periods, indicating he should be in line to call plays again.
Bill Belichick held several quick talks with young linebackers. That group has to grow up fast this season.
Undrafted linebacker Scoota Harris broke up one of Newton’s passes in 7-on7s.
Not a bad practice for newly-signed defensive tackle Darius Kilgo, particularly as a run stuffer.
Stephon Gilmore and
Jason McCourty worked off to the side during certain special teams periods.
Special teams
From this view, Olszewski can safely be projected as the team’s starting punt returner, though Dugger could be looming. Taylor and undrafted wideout Isaiah Zuber were the only other players to take punts.
Jake Bailey booted several balls into the corner during punt drills.
Rohrwasser’s leg is no question. His accuracy, however, was all over the place, missing left and right on Monday.
Odds and ends
Owner Robert Kraft strolled in early and observed most of practice.
Newton was referred to multiple times as “Cameron.”
Players have noticed an increased energy in practices this year, with Stephon Gilmore crediting Monday’s extra juice to the extended layoff since they last put pads on.