Wanted to empty out the notebook with a specific look at how minicamp went for 25 guys on the roster. So in alphabetical order, here’s how things broke down for them, and what might lie in store down the road.
DL Michael Bennett: It’s always tough to try and read line play when guys are in shorts and T-shirts, and when you add in the fact that he appeared to get a veterans’ rest day Thursday, it was even tougher to try and figure out where he is at this stage of the calendar. The one thing that really came through with Bennett over the three days is that guys rally to him and respect him. He will have a sizable presence in the locker room. I believe he’ll be a major part of the 2019 team, but I’ll wait until August to try and measure what sort of on-field impact he might be capable of.
LB Ja’Whaun Bentley: There are real expectations on Bentley when it comes to 2019 for a few reasons, not the least of which is because of the way he looked last summer. However, he looked rusty after missing the bulk of the 2018 season because of injury. No one at the linebacker position can afford slippage — it’s one of the deepest roster spots on the team. Right now, he’s battling with the likes of Elandon Roberts and Christian Sam for inside work, and will have to shake it off (if it is just rust) when camp comes around if he wants to be considered an every-down presence, at least to start the year.
WR Braxton Berrios: Nudging his way into the back end of the wide receiver depth chart. Worked in the slot and the outside, and had what might have been the best catch of camp when he hauled in a deep ball from Brian Hoyer on the first day. (The play was punctuated with a spike.) The summer will be big for him — if he can display consistency in the passing game when the pads go on and produce as a punt returner, the opportunity is there for him to make the final 53. If not? We shall see. It’s also worth mentioning that he’s sort of become the unofficial mascot for many of the veterans — when Berrios made a play, there was a noticeable reaction from guys on both sides of the ball.
QB Tom Brady: Hard not to compare Brady’s state of mind at this time last year with last spring. That was when he had a fairly short four-minute session with the media at the end of minicamp. (It was part of an offseason that was high on drama and included sit-downs with Oprah and Jim Gray.) In contrast, he seemed to hang around a bit on Thursday, going 12 minutes with reporters. What a difference a year makes and all that. Anyway, the quarterback had good days on Tuesday and Wednesday (he went a combined 14-for-15 at one point in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work), but appeared to struggle a bit on Thursday. Nothing to be overly concerned about in my estimation, but his continued work with the new guys (N’Keal Harry, Maurice Harris, Damien Harris, Matt LaCosse) will certainly bear watching come July.
LB Jamie Collins: Was wondering what sort of Collins would show up on the practice field, but over the last week, he looked super-natural, knocking down passes and generally making life tougher than expected. The big question for him, long-term, remains one of consistency. Can Jerod Mayo tap into that and make Collins 2.0 a success with the Patriots? Our bet is yes.
WR Phillip Dorsett: Realized on Thursday that I had no reason to write about Dorsett or James White over the course of the week because both appeared to be their usual, low-maintenance selves. It’s impossible to tell because we don’t know the play calls while sitting in the bleachers watching practice, but Dorsett looked like the complementary receiver he’s been over the last couple of years. Not sure how it’s all going to shake out for him in 2019 — Maurice Harris or (maybe) Demaryius Thomas could take some of his opportunities, and the possibility of Josh Gordon is still out there. But odds are he’ll find a spot as needed in this passing game, and maybe as a punt returner. Oh, and Brady calls Dorsett “Philly.”
WR Julian Edelman: As we wrote earlier in the week, Edelman was pretty much full throttle all week, going hard in all three practices. Didn’t matter if it was a routine pass-catching drill or 11-on-11 work with music blaring in the end zone to try and throw off the offense. Not breaking any news here, but with no Rob Gronkowski, Edelman’s presence here really underscores the fact that if he goes down for any stretch, this offense is going to have to get pretty creative. Not saying they couldn’t manufacture something — any team that is going to carry as many versatile running backs as New England will always find a way. But Edelman is going to be really vital to what they want to get done offensively.
QB Danny Etling: Etling didn’t get the call to do much over the course of minicamp, and that was the problem. He didn’t get any snaps during the competitive sessions, and while that could be a case of the Patriots trying to figure out what they have in Jarrett Stidham (who got reps in front of him), it doesn’t bode well for Etling long term. As always, we have to attach the reminder here that Etling does have practice squad eligibility, and would be the likeliest (at least compared to Stidham) signal caller to make it through if New England did take that chance.
CB Stephon Gilmore: Gilmore’s pass breakup Thursday on a ball meant for Edelman was really a thing of beauty. I know it’s only June and I’ve written time and again about the dangers of overreacting based on springtime workouts, but Gilmore’s performance over the three minicamp workouts lead me to believe he’s poised to have another impressive year. The defense would break the huddle and Gilmore would immediately trot over to match up in man with a variety of pass catchers. He basically shut down whoever was opposite him at the time.
RB Damien Harris: Got more reps than if Sony Michel was around, and really did well to make the most of his chances. He spent the bulk of his time working with what looked to be the second offense, and we could hear Ivan Fears barking at him on occasion after a perceived misstep. But all in all, Harris was did as well as could be expected when it came to his first minicamp. One more thing? He showed a nice ability when it came to working as a pass catcher. Not saying he’s going to be the next James White, but it’s always good to have that level of versatility, especially when you want to get a chance in the New England offense.
WR Maurice Harris: As we wrote here, Harris also did well with the chances he was given. With Josh Gordon and Demaryius Thomas not in the picture this spring, he got more reps than we expected, and he had some really nice moments. He had an impressive catch over Duron Harmon on Tuesday, and built on that Wednesday by catching passes out of a variety of spots (slot, split wide). He’ll never be confused with Jerry Rice, but the 6-foot-2 Harris is a nice big target out of the slot who has shown a nice dependability over the course of his career (one drop in three years, per Pro Football Focus). It’s a long time between now and September, but he was one of a few newcomers who really helped himself this week.
WR N’Keal Harry: There were times early on Tuesday where the rookie looked impressive. He fights for footballs, does a great job using his body, and takes hard coaching from the quarterbacks and coaches. But he hit a wall when he ran into Gilmore on Wednesday, and the veteran pretty much shut him down. Greg brought this on after Thursday’s workout, but Brady’s reaction pretty much spelled out everything you need to know about Harry at this point: He’s a rookie. I still believe he’s going to have a good rookie season, but the sight of him going against an elite cornerback like Gilmore is a reminder he’s got a lot to work on moving forward.
LB Dont’a Hightower: One thing that stood out to us was that Hightower spent a lot of time working on the edge. Not sure if that was a way to get a look at some other guys in the middle or inside (like Collins or Brandon King) or see what Hightower might be able to do. But the fact he was over there so often certainly caught our eye. Something to look for when July rolls around.
QB Brian Hoyer: A lot can change between now and the start of the regular season. But while there was some talk Hoyer could be in danger of losing his backup spot, based on what we saw over the course of the week, Hoyer still appears to be firmly ensconced as Brady’s primary backup. Thought it was interesting Hoyer stepped out to work with younger players at times over the course of the week on routes, as well as what to do and what not to do when it came to drills — he upbraided a young cornerback for jumping the route during a drill that was designed to work on timing between quarterback and pass catcher.
OL Ted Karras: Karras could be a sneaky important part of this offensive line. He saw a lot of time with the starting offensive line at left guard over the first two days as the Patriots continued to use Joe Thuney at left tackle. On Thursday, he took an awful lot of reps as the backup center behind David Andrews. He’s probably going to battle Brian Schwenke for playing time, but if the Patriots do decide to use Thuney at left tackle while they wait for Wynn to develop, Karras could get significant snaps.
TE Matt LaCosse: Really up and down week for LaCosse, who certainly had his moments over the first two practices, showing a nice chemistry with a few of the quarterbacks while taking reps with the No. 1 offense and looking good Wednesday. On Thursday, he earned the wrath of Brady when there appeared to be a miscommunication on a route. As is the case with all the newcomers, it’s a process. The thing is, right now LaCosse projects to be the starting tight end over the first four games of the season, which means his margin for error has shrunk significantly. At this point, he’s going to be in the spotlight going forward.
S Obi Melifonwu: Tough to get a read on where Melionwu stands — it’s a good thing that he was running with the starting defense the first two days (Harmon was taking some of Patrick Chung’s role as Chung wasn’t out there), but we didn’t see as much of him on Thursday. While he remains one of our choices as a guy who is entering a key stretch in the race for a roster spot, there’s still some uncertainty there when it comes to where he will ultimately fit with this team.
Edge John Simon: In some ways, Simon is like the Dorsett of the defense. Understated and unassuming, the guy doesn’t always get the call, but shows up when needed and handles his business, both on defense and special teams. Saw a lot of time on the edge with the first and second defense all three days, and should be a nice puzzle piece in both areas for the Patriots in 2019.
QB Jarrett Stidham: Based on what we saw this week, the viewpoint here is Stidham is well-positioned to be the No. 3 quarterback this year. There were an awful lot of times over the three days where he looked like an uneven rookie and delivered some wobbly passes. But there were others where there were occasional glimpses into the guy who had an impressive 2016 with Auburn, like the touchdown drive he led late in Thursday’s workout. Bottom line? If he ends up playing significant snaps for this team in 2019, something will have gone wrong. But as a developmental possibility for 2020 and beyond, this week represented a (mostly) good step for the rookie.
OL Joe Thuney: My favorite (and maybe most illustrative) Thuney story from the week? On Thursday, when the interior offensive linemen and tackles split to do work separately, Thuney went with the tackles. The last time we saw a guy play tackle and guard at a high level in New England was Logan Mankins, and while Greg expressed a sense of optimism about Wynn following Thursday’s workout, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Thuney play some tackle in 2019. For what it’s worth, if he can stay healthy, he should really cash in next offseason.
TE Ben Watson: Watson won’t make anyone forget Gronkowski, but over the three days of minicamp, he certainly looked like the type who can come up with a 35-40 catch year with New England in 2019. After an occasionally rough Wednesday, he had a steady Thursday. He was part of Brady Springtime Circle of Trust, one of a group that included Harry and James White.
RB James White: As we said previously, it can be tough to discern the execution level during minicamp because we don’t always know the play call. But White, per usual, always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Had one of the most impressive plays of camp when he hauled in a deep ball from Brady Thursday that looked like it went for 60 yards. If he stays healthy, no reason to think he won’t have another monster year.
CB Joejuan Williams: Rookie didn’t really pop over the first two days, and then struggled in coverage on Thursday when it looked like he was beaten on a pair of plays for touchdowns. Bottom line? He looked like a rookie who was still making the needed adjustments to life at the NFL level. The good news for New England is that it’s so incredibly deep at the cornerback position, Williams should have time to address any sort of issues with technique and footwork.
Edge Chase Winovich: Guy is a straight-ahead, pin-your-ears-back, upfield pass rusher. They didn’t ask him to drop into coverage an awful lot at Michigan, so it’s not a surprise. At this stage of his career, he’s probably a rotational piece behind some of the other edge guys — he spent most of the week running with what appeared to be a reasonable facsimile of the No. 2 defense. I want to see if he can set the edge and drop into coverage. But I’m still setting the over/under for Winovich sacks this year at 4.5.
OL Isaiah Wynn: Didn’t see much of him over the first two days, but we got a chance to see him Thursday work with the tackles in a couple of drills. At this point, it looks like the Patriots are preaching patience with him and his recovery. At the same time, the potential still exists for him to open training camp on the PUP list and go from there.