Bedard: 2024 Patriots Camp Awards - Best, worst and everything in between

The Patriots' 2024 training camp is done. Twenty practices, two preseason games and one joint practice with the Eagles are in the books as New England begins to set the stage in earnest for the regular season. Consider this the capper on camp — 17 awards for what I've seen sitting in my perch the last month — that will lead into our final 53-man roster after tonight's preseason finale.

We cover everything from the best defensive and offensive rookies, to the biggest disappointments.

BEST PASS BLOCKER

One-on-one results, including one joint practice (the numbers aren't even because Scott Peters went to two separate groups for a time):

Winner: Mike Onwenu.

I could easily give it to Layden Robinson but the reps are uneven since he was often with the backups when they were going two-spot with 1-on-1s. I'm sure he dominated over there too, but I have to see it with my eyes. Big Mike just dominated for a while. One mild cause for concern: he started 14-1-2, and finished 2-3-2.

BEST PASS RUSHER

(Also limited by the two-spot and I do not have Eagles pass rush numbers, only pass blocking.)

Winner: Keion White.

I'm going a little off the board here considering his win rate (26%). Let me explain. First of all, the overall pass rush is cause for concern. The pass rushers only won about 25 percent of the time. White had a team-high 12 losses but I would say almost all of them were against Onwenu on the interior. White said he did that to challenge himself. When he wasn't matched up against an All-Pro level player and on the perimeter, he was dominating (as evidenced by his team-high 3 decisive wins).

Still, the Patriots better win on scheme, as Jerod Mayo alluded to. Without Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon, they're missing some big-time matchup advantages.

COMEBACK PLAYER

Nominees: Kayson Boutte, Tyquan Thornton, Daniel Ekuale, Christian Gonzalez, Raekwon McMillan.

Winner: Daniel Ekuale.

Tore his biceps early last season and was out for the season. He's been a constant on the field in camp and stepped to the forefront as a starter once Barmore went out. He showed very well as a pass rusher but could be a big weakness against the run as an undersized sub pass rusher type.

DESCENDING PLAYER

Nominees: Juju Smith-Schuster (released).

Winner: Juju Smith-Schuster (released).

I didn't have any nominees from the current roster, which I think is a testament to the Patriots cutting some of the dead weight and going forward with youth in this rebuild. In the latter years of the Belichick regime, there were no shortage of candidates.

BEST DEFENSIVE ROOKIE

Nominees: LB Steele Chambers, CB Marcellas Dial, S Dell Pettus, DE Jotham Russell, CB Mikey Victor.

Winner: CB Marcellas Dial.

Not a whole lot of nominees here as the Patriots focused their personnel additions (and draft picks) on the offensive overhaul that was desperately needed. Have been impressed by all the nominees at certain points, and Pettus has really come on to battle for a spot. And while Dial got roasted in the Eagles preseason game, he's held his own in practice and on special teams where he's likely to make his mark if he makes the team.

BEST OFFENSIVE ROOKIE

Nominees: QB Drake Maye, WR Ja'Lynn Polk, OG Layden Robinson, TE Jaheim Bell, RB Terrell Jennings, QB Joe Milton, WR David Wallis.

Winner: (tie) Layden Robinson, Ja'Lynn Polk.

Could have easily awarded this to Polk or even Maye with how he's looked since the Eagles preseason game, but it's close between Polk and Robinson. I'm calling it a tie. Both have a chance to start the opener and have been remarkably consistent all of camp. They are advanced for rookies. And this isn't a knock on Maye at all. The other two are just more NFL ready for Week 1. Nothing wrong with that.

WORST ROOKIE

Nominees: OT Zuri Henry, C Charles Turner.

Winner: Charles Turner.

Neither has been truly awful, but Turner played a lot of center in college, the Patriots had issues at center and they still didn't use him very much. Says a lot.

BEST NEWCOMER

Nominees: S Jaylinn Hawkins, WR KJ Osborn, WR Jacoby Brissett, C/G Nick Leverett, RB Antonio Gibson, TE Austin Hooper, DE Oshane Ximines, CB Marco Wilson, K Joey Slye.

Winner: K Joey Slye.

Definitely considered Gibson, Hooper, Ximines and Hawkins - and they have all impressed to a certain extent - but Slye has been the most consistent between games and practices, and has appeared to win his battle with Chad Ryland.

WORST NEWCOMER

Nominees: TE Mitchell Wilcox, OT Chuks Okorafor, DT Armon Watts.

Winner: DT Armon Watts.

He was supposed to be the Lawrence Guy replacement, but that's been a big whiff by the personnel department as he hasn't shown well and was 0-6-4 in pass rushes. Can they get Guy back please? I'd feel better about DT if that happened.

Until he finally agreed to go back to left tackle this week, Okorafor was very much up for this and could win it by the end of the season. Don't love the vibes there.

MOST CONSISTENT DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Nominees: DE Keion White, DT Davon Godchaux, DE Deatrich Wise, S Jabrill Peppers, LB Ja'Whaun Bentley.

Winner: DT Davon Godchaux.

You could pick a bunch of players for this but Godchaux has been a solid rock in the middle of the line and they desperately need him to play well this season.

MOST CONSISTENT OFFENSIVE PLAYER

Nominees: C David Andrews, WR Pop Douglas, OL Mike Onwenu, RB Rhamondre Stevenson.

Winner: (tie) Andrews, Douglas.

Andrews continues to be the rock in the middle, and Douglas is the go-to guy in the middle of the field for all QBs when he's on it. I couldn't pick between them. Onwenu tailed off a bit at the end of camp. Stevenson definitely warranted consideration but the line stunk at run blocking.

THE KENNY BRITT MEMORABLE MOMENT AWARD

Nothing will ever top Kenny Britt walking off the field in the middle of practice to get treatment and stopping to play with his kids on the field (or wearing over-ear headphones onto the field) but ... this moment between Mayo and Judon showed us we're definitely not in Kansas anymore at One Patriot Place.

LONGSHOT WHO CAUGHT OUR EYE

G/C Liam Fornadel.

The former UFL and CFL player just stacked days to the point I don't think he's a longshot - he has a very real chance to make this team. He reminds me of a combination of Dan Connolly and Ted Karras - two of my favorite former longshots who just worked their tails off to become good NFL players.

Honorable mention to WR David Wallis, who deserves a spot on the practice squad and to develop into a Patriots slot.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Mayo's on-field camp.

I can't speak to what's going on in terms of preparation and how he's handling the players behind the scene, but I'm been mostly impressed with the camp Mayo ran on the field in terms of preparing the players. I still think the pass is often too slow and they could be a lot more efficient, but Mayo has been no pushover on the field - in fact, he's been kind of a hard ass. They were in pads almost every day they could. They tackled to the ground at one point. He's on top of mistakes and getting Brissett to play faster. Color me impressed ... until the real games start lol.

Honorable mention: Vederian Lowe.

He now has a chance to be a legit, solid starting offensive tackle and went 12-3-3. Color me shocked.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

The wide zone run blocking.

It often takes time for things to click in terms of technique and timing, but they've been awful on wide zone runs, especially to the right (they rank 25th in RT runs, 29 to RE). Maybe Big Mike will solve that at RT. Can't be any worse. If this team can't make teams respect the wide zone runs, I don't know how they're going to move the ball.

Runner-up: The Drake Maye Plan.

Maye was raw and relatively inexperienced compared to his older, fellow first-round rookies, so I have no problem sitting him as long as possible. The worst thing you can do is put a young player like that, on a subpar team, out on the field too early. But I think Maye, who did struggle early with confidence in camp, could have made a bigger push if they played him longer against Carolina. Alex Van Pelt says he doesn't regret that decision. Others in the building would disagree.

BEST PLAYER OF CAMP

(tie) Mike Onwenu and Pop Douglas.

Onwenu was a beast for 2/3rds of camp, but tailed off a bit and has now switched to his lesser position. Douglas wasn't cleared for a while but immediately showed his value to the QBs when he hit the field. I couldn't choose.

WORST PLAYER OF CAMP

WR Juju Smith-Schuster.

Had nothing in the legs from the jump and he's still out there as a free agent with no nibbles. Tells you a lot.