There was no denying that last season was a train wreck for the Patriots, almost from the start. The roster was bereft of talent, the coaching staff thrown together, and the GM forced to hold the head coach's hand. The further removed we get from that 4-13 campaign, the more I marvel at the levels of incompetence, from ownership on down.
As I reported during and after the season, the locker room felt the dysfunction. The latest to confirm is Keion White.
Speaking to reporters yesterday after the mandatory mini-camp, White, who was quite vocal at the tail end of the 2024-25 season, made it clear how he felt about the guidance he received then versus what he's getting now.
“I have a really good coach helping me. Coach (Mike) Smith (hired by Mike Vrabel this off-season) was telling me steps, alignment, things like that I haven’t traditionally heard. So, just that next step of having that coach behind me is really big for me.
"… It’s helpful because it slows it down a little bit and trains me. He’s doing a good job of saying, ‘This is what you need to think of; this is your thought process.’ That’s something I don’t think I had before and what I was missing; I was training myself, I’m not going to lie. Now I feel like I have a coach.”
Jerry Montgomery was White's position coach last year. DeMarcus Covington was the defensive coordinator. Montgomery is in Cincinnati now, and Covington Green Bay. Head coach Jerod Mayo is no longer in football. In their place are Smith, Terrell Williams (who remains away from the team) and Vrabel.
“I like Mike. He leads with work. I can respect that,” said White. “It’s similar to Bill [Belichick], just with a younger face. I think we all know how I feel about that; I liked him. So it’s comforting to know that you have a hard-ass at the helm who will not be afraid to fistfight with you in a back alley.”
It's been interesting to see how the Pats have deployed White in the non-padded portion of the off-season. Yes, he got plenty of edge work, but there were various looks that kicked White inside and had Milton Williams outside. We've also seen Christian Barmore line up head-up on the tackle (4-tech). Needless to say, that's going to be a fun group to monitor, assuming they all stay healthy. White is excited about all of it.
“We have really good guys on the inside who can get after the passer, even on early-down situations,” he said. “That changes things I can do a little bit. Be less conservative and be more aggressive.”
White got off to a beastly start last year before cooling down. He finished with 36 tackles, 6 sacks, and 45 total QB pressures.
EYES ON UDFA
Did the Efton Chism hype train get derailed - or at least rerouted - this week? With the return of Kendrick Bourne - he missed last week's OTAs - Chism found himself relegated to the secondary field at times during day one of Monday's mandatory mini-camp.
Forced indoors because of the weather, day two wasn't much better on that front, although it wasn't as if Chism vanished into thin air. He still found himself getting the occasional rep with Drake Maye and a few more with backup Joshua Dobbs.
However, what was certainly telling about how this staff feels about Chism - Josh McDaniels might be the conductor - was the reaction of Vrabel, who has a tendency to redirect, or at least downplay, questions asked of him about some of the younger players. Not with Chism.
"I think he's a talented player," he said. "I think he has a certain skill set. He's dedicated. He's studied extremely hard. He has a good feel for what we're asking him to do. I think the biggest thing for receivers is that there's trust from the guy that throws the football. When you earn the quarterback's trust – any one of them that we have, any one of the three – it doesn't take you long to figure out who the quarterback trusts. It's the ones they target. That's a good indicator."
Indeed. And Maye, most importantly, has not hesitated to go the undrafted free agent's way, even when some of the more veteran members of the receiving room are on the field.
"...Chis had about 50 catches," laughed the quarterback when talking about the rookie after Monday's practice.
Heavy volume is not uncommon for Chism. He had 120 catches in his final year at Eastern Washington for over 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns. That production should have gotten him drafted, but between playing at an FCS school and being clocked at 4.71 in the 40, the 5'10", 195-pounder didn't get selected.
"I mean, I think every kid's dream is to get drafted, but it is what it is," said Chism, channeling his inner Belichick. "I'm here now, you know, I got the opportunity, and I'm just thankful."
Chism recalled Vrabel telling him, 'It doesn't matter how you got here; it's what you do once you get the opportunities," and to the kid's credit, he's done everything he can to take advantage. The test will become significantly more difficult in full pads and with increased physicality, but Chism has laid a solid foundation as he pushes for a spot on the 53-man roster.
QUICK HITTERS
- Christian Gonzalez was the single best player I saw during the five practice sessions we saw this spring. He's definitely stronger and playing with supreme confidence. His interception of Maye on Tuesday was what Stephon Gilmore did during his Defensive Player of the Year season.
- Kayshon Boutte may be in Maye's circle of trust - he worked with the 1s all spring - but he didn't see a lot of throws come his way.
- If I had to do a roster projection today, Javon Baker wouldn't make it. He's going to need a monster summer and maybe some injury help as well.
- K'Lavon Chaisson got plenty of run with the top group defensively, and I liked what I saw. We'll see if he can maintain that level of disruption once the pads come on, but perhaps Chaisson is one of those players who have it click for them later in their careers (he was a first-rounder in 2020 and turns 26 at the start of camp).
- We haven't gotten a chance to talk to Will Campbell all that much, but every time he speaks, I like what I hear. I still wonder if his arm length, wingspan, and hand size will put a ceiling on who he is as a player. That's something I'll be dialed in on this summer, especially during the joint practices.
- The Patriots do not have a third tight end. It's Henry, Hooper, and Pray. Last year's draftee Jaheim Bell seems to be a longshot at this point.
- As the son of a long-time coach, I'm someone who watches the coaches closely. I genuinely enjoy the work Vrabel, McDaniels, Jeremy Springer, and running backs coach Tony Dews, among others, are putting in. I don't think I've scribbled down "WTHATD" on my notebook once this spring (that's short for What the Hell are they doing?"). It's the little things, people.