Mike's Musings is back, and it's back big. Here are my thoughts on what we saw earlier this week in a highly competitive (for this time of year) OTA.
- We got our first look at the 2025-26 version of Christian Gonzalez. The cornerback looks stronger and faster (at least in shorts). Turns out, he's explored a new training method: Pilates.
"Really hard, but I enjoyed it," he said. "It works a lot of muscles that you never think you have in your body."
Gonzalez intercepted Drake Maye twice in Tuesday's OTA, although one was a blatant misread by the 2nd year signal caller (he didn't see zone). And while Maye got him once - a beautiful back shoulder throw to Javon Baker - Gonzalez looks every bit like the second-team All-Pro selection he was last year.
"I've still got a lot to prove," he said.
Perhaps, considering the former first-round pick has only one full season under his belt. But Gonzalez is now one of the more senior members in the cornerback room and someone other players look to for guidance.
"The more I've been in the building, the more I've been around football, the more I'm starting to learn (and) the more I can help the rookies when they have a question," he said. "Not even the rookies; anybody else who has a question."
- TreVeyon Henderson moves differently than the other guys in the backfield (Rhamondre Stevenson was not in attendance) and showed nice hands on several plays coming out of the backfield (he also had a drop). The rookie displayed quick feet with a nifty cutback on a screen. That may be Henderson's best path to early playing time (veteran Antonio Gibson was the team's best back last year), and as I've written about a number of times, his pass protection was considered the best in this draft class. Will that translate to the pros? Mike Vrabel thinks these practices will help get Henderson acclimated for the real thing.
"These are mental reps," said Vrabel. "These are seeing things at speed until – it's full speed to contact is really what we say. So, we want the blitzer to go as fast as he would, disguise the way he would, and try to time it up the way that he would. Once he gets to the player that's blocking him, we're going to ask them to stop and then be ready to go and sprint out of the stack and finish his play that way.
"So, they're good because there's disguises, there's moving parts, there's other bodies. It's not just a walkthrough pace. So, I think the tempo is going to allow them to identify the right person to protect and to block, and then we'll see in training camp if physically they'll be able to do it, which by all accounts, I think that they will."
Henderson, along with Will Campbell and Craig Woodson, are the only members of the draft class who are still unsigned.
- Speaking of Stevenson, he is back with the team on Thursday after spending time at home grieving the loss of his father (he passed away in March). Despite the selection of Henderson, Vrabel insists the veteran - who signed an extension last summer - is a big piece of the Pats' future.
"Oh, we're extremely excited to have him with us," he said. "I've been in constant communication with him. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as they heal and grieve. I want to be a part of that to help them and get to know him. I met him early on and then he went back, and now those conversations have just been over the telephone.
"So, when you start to evaluate this season, and you watch the effort that he played with when he didn't have the football, he played extremely fast without the football. His ability to step up and protect is taking care of a teammate. It’s protecting the guy with the ball. He did that on numerous occasions. You always saw him downfield when he didn't have the ball. So, he's going to be a large part of what we do, and we'll just have to determine where he's at when he's back here."
Stevenson had 207 carries last season, just three behind his career-high set in 2022-23. But he averaged over a yard less per carry (3.9 compared to 5.0 in '22-23). By comparison, Gibson averaged 4.5 per tote and was second in the league in yards post-contact per attempt (3.91). Stevenson was a full yard behind in that category.
- I'm not going to make any bold proclamations about any of the undrafted free agents, especially as Tuesday's session was in shorts (football, if you recall, is not played in such attire). Still, I could see signs of why the Pats doled out 240K for Efton Chism.
Perhaps it's his size (5'10", 195) that draws comparisons to some of the slot receivers in the organization's past, but he displayed that necessary shiftiness for that spot at first glance. Chism reeled in four of five targets in team drills, doing so in both the short and intermediate areas of the field. His collegiate profile suggests this is still a significant climb for him to make. Chism caught 39% of his passes in 2024 behind the line of scrimmage at Eastern Washington and isn't blessed with straight-line speed (he ran a 4.71 and, quite frankly, I think it's fair), but his three-cone (6.77) and short shuttle (4.04) times are more in line with a smaller NFL-type slot. We'll keep an eye on him as we go forward as he fights for a spot in what should be a competitive wide receiver room.
- The defense tested offensive line communication early and often, resulting in several unblocked rushers bearing down on Maye and Josh Dobbs. I spied Keion White, Bradyn Swinson, and Marcus Jones in sack-worthy spots. Vrabel has talked about not wanting to see mistakes repeated. We get our next look at the Pats on Wednesday.
- Safety Craig Woodson looked like a vet Tuesday. Again, just one day, one snapshot of a multiple-month process this spring and summer, but when I had eyes on him, he didn't appear to waste any movement. Some considered him a reach in the 4th round, but the Pats had an entire night to sleep on that selection - it was near the top of the round - and didn't waver on their choice.