The Patriots held their second offseason practice on Wednesday, and thanks to PR maven Stacey James and Bill Belichick — yes, you read that right — we'll get that third opportunity to see the team again Friday ahead of the Monday-Wednesday mandatory minicamp.
Going back over our notes from Wednesday's session, here are the players who stood out, good and bad, from our vantage point.
THREE UP
RT Sidy Sow: It's almost impossible to judge offensive and defensive linemen in shorts and t-shirts, so you're trying to look for technique and general movement traits. So far, the fourth-round pick passes the eye test. He doesn't appear to play as big as his 6-5 frame, but that could change when pads are on. Wouldn't say he's the most fluid mover but the foot quickness is there and the overall skills are present to develop, even if they are a little raw at this point. There's no reason to think Sow can't be similar to Marcus Cannon with development, just with not quite as much power (can develop). But Sow does a nice job staying between his man and the ball, and that's really the name of the game.
QB Mac Jones: Well, QB1 is no dummy. Down his top four receivers, Jones relied on his tight ends and backs for another high completion day and his accuracy was as expected, nothing out of the ordinary. Jones and David Andrews did more at the line of scrimmage in this practice, which was encouraging and a welcomed sight. You can tell Jones is happy about the way things are going, as his enthusiasm is at a level we probably haven't seen ever (he was reserved as a rookie with Cam Newton there, and was overly focused once he was the starter ... last year at this time, nothing made sense for the returners). Would like to see him be a little more fluid with the playfakes, which appear to be an early focus. Bailey Zappe is clearly better on those as his timing is perfect. Jones always seems a little harried. That could be remnants from last year's protection issues. A QB feeling comfortable with his protection means an unrushed QB.
TE Mike Gesicki: Showing a nice early connection with Jones that goes both ways.
“Mac’s awesome,” Gesicki said after practice. “That’s my guy. He’s been incredible as a leader, been great out there physically throwing the ball, timing, throwing a very catchable ball and all of that kind of stuff. And he likes to have fun. It’s been a cool offseason for us trying to jell and get on the same page, and I think it’s been good.”
It's easy to see with his body control and movement that he's an off-brand Travis Kelce that you hope will have some offside. He could be of particular interest in the red zone as his body fluidity allows for more acrobatic catches on jump balls and faces (Hunter Henry is a bit more stiff). Good early start for both tight ends with Jones.
Honorable mention:
CB Christian Gonzalez - Smooth, fluid, exciting athlete.
OG Atonio Mafi - Did well subbing for Mike Onwenu.
DE Keion White - Powerful raw athlete.
WR Ed Lee - Diving catch of the day.
S Jabrill Peppers - Diving pass breakup.
THREE DOWN
Defensive line discipline: Looked like the Patriots were heavy on situational stuff in this practice and one of those was four-minute offense, where the offense is trying to run out the clock. The defensive line jumped offsides three times, including Deatrich Wise, Sam Roberts and Anfernee Jennings. This was an issue at times during the regular season, which is why they're probably working on it a bit for the offense and defense. But it's pretty sloppy for the defense to be jumping with no crowd noise (yes, there was loud music). This stuff did not used to be an issue.
WR Kayshon Boutte: The sixth-round pick had a golden opportunity to make an early name for himself with so many veterans out, and he failed to register. That's not a huge indictment or anything, but if he was going to pop early, you would have expected to see him be more productive. For example, Jakobi Meyers as a UDFA rookie definitely would have caught people's eyes. And Boutte is obviously still swimming a bit with the basics of the playbook because he was admonished at one point by one of the coaches. Again, not unusual and not a huge deal at this point, but just a little disappointing. Newly signed Ed Lee and college QB-turned-WR Malik Cunningham were more impressive with backup reps.
Christian Barmore: It's one thing for Cole Strange and Jennings to get after it — those things will and do happen in football, I don't care if pads are on or not — but for Barmore to take a swing at a captain like David Andrews basically out of nowhere ... it's not good. I'm not going to make a huge deal out of it because he's still a young 23 years old. But Barmore has the talent to be one of the better young DTs in the league, he's shown flashes of it, and the team needs him to play at that type of level for them to overachieve this year. This was just a lack of focus from Barmore and the only thing he needs to be focused on is getting better for this team.