Is it wrong of me to want to fast-forward to a week from this past Monday? I want full pads and I want them now. Real football. Real evaluations. And the beginning of us getting a real sense of what the 2023-24 Patriots are and what they can be. Alas, I don’t always get what I want (what a rip-off). I’ll just have to analyze the first several days of camp with the caveat that we’ve seen plenty of players look like rock stars in shorts and t-shirts over the years but never amount to a damn thing in the league. Hell, some never even made the league.
That said, here are 5 five players/items that will be getting extra attention from yours truly in the coming days and weeks:
5. Josh Uche
Count me as a believer in his pass-rushing ability. He is more bendy than Gumby, especially at the top of his rush, something no other Patriots pass rusher can say, or quite frankly has been able to attempt in many, many years. Not even you, Matthew Judon. But after a career year, with 11.5 sacks a season ago, Uche is in line for a big payday (Seattle just paid Uchenna Nwosu 32 million in guaranteed dollars) if he can produce at a similar rate and stay healthy while doing it (his 15 games last year were the most of his career). I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews for the work Uche has put in since the season ended. If this defense is going to be what the Pats believe it can be, Uche is an important piece.
GET PATS COVERAGE FROM GIARDI AND BEDARD ALL SEASON LONG: $10 OFF ANNUAL PLAN! CODE: BSJMIKE
4. Wide Receiver/Tight End availability
Belichick swapped out the reliable and trusted Jakobi Meyers for the oft-injured JuJu Smith-Schuster. He granted a contract extension to DeVante Parker, whose production has declined in each of the last 4 seasons. There is hope for big things from 2nd year pro Tyquan Thornton, but he missed about a quarter of the games last year after suffering a broken clavicle and then sat out a portion of this spring with a hamstring issue. A fast guy who has soft tissue problems is not a great recipe for sustained success.
At tight end, Hunter Henry has been a rock, not missing a game in each of his first two seasons with the Pats (after a lot of physical issues with the Chargers) but there is no depth at that position. Mike Gesicki is not a tight end. Repeat after me. Not. A. Tight. End. So were something to happen to the Pats' best receiver, regardless of position, the Pats would find themselves in a bit of a pickle that would, in my opinion, require actually trading for a real one. Maybe the best bet is to wrap all these guys in bubble wrap after a few weeks and save them for the games that count.
3. Jack Jones
He can play. We saw that. He also weighs about 175 pounds soaking wet with an anvil in his back pocket. Did he get bigger? Did he get stronger? Can he protect himself more in the open field because there’s no question he’s a willing tackler? If he can answer the physical questions, he should be a consistent fixture in that secondary. Then there’s the off-field stuff. How in the wide world of sports will Belichick handle it? Jones was red-flagged coming into the league and taken off some teams' draft boards for character concerns. Then he gets suspended by the team after not working diligently enough to rehab a knee injury that derailed his rookie season. Then there’s the guns at Logan Airport story that lingered over his summer and is still there, with the league monitoring his legal situation. Will he be suspended? Will Belichick punish him internally? Will it all disappear and everyone will act like it was no big deal?
2. Christian Gonzalez: He has all the tools to be a good corner in this league: size, speed, strength, quickness and smooth as churned butter getting in and out of his breaks. But he was dogged by questions about his competitiveness, and most league sources I’ve talked to believe that’s why he fell from top-5 type talent to 17th overall in the 1st round. None of that talk will matter if Gonzalez emerges early and holds down one of the corner spots. It’s what would be best for this team. Gonzalez on one side, Jack Jones on the other, and Jon Jones back to his primary spot as one of the best slot guys in the league. That might also create an opportunity for the dynamic Marcus Jones to see so more snaps on offense as well. A win-win. So we'll see how Gonzalez fares against a receiving group that scares no one but at least offers plenty of professional experience.
1. Mac Jones: He has done nothing but “put his head down and work” said one Patriot source, looking to remind people in the building why they felt like they were in good hands with Jones after his rookie campaign. But Year 2 was enough to rattle the confidence of even the most unflappable of sorts, and Jones definitely dipped in all areas, both because of things in his control and that which was beyond it. I’m not sure the slate is clean - Belichick still has a hard time mentioning the kid by name - but if Bill O’Brien is the only coach who will be in Mac’s ear this season, that might not matter. Jones is still super smart and super accurate. It’s up to O’Brien to play to that and rebuild the former first-rounder into the franchise QB, or something that you can at least commit to and win with, even if he’ll never look like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen (reminder: there’s like 5 guys in the world like that).