What we learned from minicamp and OTAs
Before the Patriots hit the field this spring, they were just a construct.
An idea of a football team rejuvenated by free agents, a rookie quarterback and the return of certain savvy vets. But how well these pieces fit together, how they would play and look and gel, could only be imagined. The Pats existed exclusively on paper.
Thirteen OTA and minicamp practices later, the 2021 Patriots have slowly begun to form. Optimism is now growing under the Foxboro sun. Hype is creeping around every corner.
To ward off said hype, Pats coaches and players publicly stressed in recent weeks that OTAs and minicamp are teaching exercises. This is true. Players were learning in practice, not actively being evaluating by the coaches who will soon test and drill them over a rigorous training camp.
Except as they labored through team drills and individual work, the players weren’t the only ones learning.
We absorbed plenty of information about them. Not a ton, but enough to see that the team on paper could soon come to life exactly as it’s been imagined.
Here are four observa
tions from offseason practices at 1 Patriot Place.
Mac Jones is already pushing Cam Newton
The kid is coming.
Jones wasn’t spectacular this spring, but he achieved exactly what he needed to: appreciable improvement.
He steadily grew more aggressive in team drills, throwing passes that traveled more than 10 yards on half his attempts in Wednesday’s final practice. The results were mixed, but that practice followed two days when he was the best passer on the field. Jones’ adjusted completion percentage for minicamp — excluding drops and throwaways — was 68%.
The best practice performance by a quarterback belonged to Newton on Day 3, when he delivered a catchable ball on 95% of his passing attempts.
Newton wasn’t quite as aggressive as Jones, but the Patriots offense isn’t predicated on a vertical passing game. It’s designed to carve up the short areas of the field and strike off play-action.
That fits Jones, whose quick release and rapid processing are already evident. Still, he’ll continue to fight a two-front war with his inexperience and Newton’s grip on the starting job through the summer. At least their battle in training camp just got a little more interesting.
Josh Uche is tracking for a breakout
The 2020 season was no friend to Josh Uche.
He was inactive for the season opener, then hampered by injury and moved all around the defensive front. All that after a virtual offseason program, eliminated preseason and minimal training camp. Rapidly, he fell from a sleeper pick to win Defensive Rookie of the Year to being able to sleep in on Sundays.
This spring, he looked like an entirely different player.
Uche tallied at least four would-be sacks in team drills, each time pulling up once he breached the pocket to avoid forbidden contact with the quarterback. His raw pass-rushing talent is unmatched on the roster. Most encouragingly, Uche repped with the starting group as an inside and outside linebacker.
In the matter of a few months, Uche’s developed what all young players need: confidence in himself and the coaching staff ’s confidence in him.
A young wideout should surprise
Jakobi Meyers was the best receiver on the field this offseason.
He didn’t drop a single pass in team drills over six practices open to the media. He routinely found soft spots in zone coverage. All four quarterbacks trust him.
It’s easy to forget Meyers changed positions in college, so his potential for further growth is greater than most third-year wideouts. A breakout could be imminent.
Beyond Meyers, free-agent addition Nelson Agholor registered one of the lowest catch rates among wideouts, around a couple nice snags. Kendrick Bourne experienced an up-and-down minicamp. No surprises there.
The Patriots offense is notoriously difficult for wideouts to master, even veterans. If they’re starting slowly this season, the Pats can take comfort in Meyers’ filling the void or another young receiver making a substantial leap.
It’s unlikely that player will be N’Keal Harry, though not all hope is lost for the former firstrounder. Aside from Harry, Gunner Olszewski finished multiple practices as the most targeted receiver in team drills. He and second-year backup Isaiah Zuber are the Patriots’ most dangerous players in space after Agholor.
It’s possible one of them breaks out, which would be good enough to provide the Pats with a respectable No. 4 receiver. Former practice-squadder Kristian Wilkerson is another name to know, as a rock-solid 6-foot-1 target with a rare combination of quickness and long speed who needs further development.
Stephon Gilmore has dug in
A contract dispute kept the Patriots’ best player away from all offseason activities and could extend his absence even longer. It’s unknown when Stephon Gilmore will return.
In the final year of his contract, Gilmore’s scheduled to earn less money this season than 25 other cornerbacks in the league. His only leverage is the hit the Patriots’ chances at contending would take without him, which is significant. But the Pats rank among the NFL’s best problem solvers and would surely approach their new roster hole with the belief they could find a solution.
The Patriots can also tell Gilmore they will fine him into the ground for every training camp practice he misses, up to $50,000 per day; money the team can’t return, according to the new CBA, if and when the two sides reach a new deal. That practice was common prior to last season.
If Gilmore can stomach those fines and losing an accrued season toward his free agency, real trouble could be brewing.
He is the Pats’ first holdout since 2010, when Logan Mankins sat out until early November (albeit under a much different CBA) before he returned to the team. For what it’s worth, one of Gilmore’s closest teammates believes he will return and settle back into his role as the team’s No. 1 corner.
“I mean, Gilly’s still under contract. So when he comes back in, he does what he does, and we all know that,” Devin McCourty said after Tuesday’s minicamp practice. “I’ve been talking to him. He’s still a part of this team, and when he comes in, I don’t think we have to change much.”