FOXBORO, Mass. — Tom Brady still is locked in on Julian Edelman four months after the 2013 NFL season ended.
Many of Brady’s targets went to Edelman on the first day of organized team activities practice open to the media. Edelman even got a few “nice play Jules” calls out of his quarterback.
Wide receivers Aaron Dobson, Brandon LaFell and Matthew Slater were absent for practice, which gave Edelman, Danny Amendola, Kenbrell Thompkins, Josh Boyce and Mark Harrison plenty of reps with the first team offense. Harrison had a drop, but looked solid in his first action in front of the media.
Check out the rest of NESN.com’s practice observations:
-Linebacker Jamie Collins saw the field often. Collins and defensive end Michael Buchanan looked to have added weight over the offseason.
-Tight end Justin Jones looked lumbering at times at 6-foot-8, 277 pounds. He made a nice catch that he had to reach down for, but he had trouble getting separation from defenders.
-Thompkins, running back Roy Finch and Jeremy Gallon handled punt return duties on Friday.
-Running back Shane Vereen and Finch showed nice hands out of the backfield.
-Sebastian Vollmer participated in 11-on-11 drills, which is a good sign, since he suffered a broken leg last season.
