Patriots Rookie Update: Coaches’ Initial Impressions Of First-Year Players

FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots assistant coaches met with the media for the first time this summer Monday at Gillette Stadium.

With training camp and three preseason games, there was plenty to catch up on. The Patriots seem to have a promising 2019 draft class, so we had each assistant touch on their rookie players with the season right around the corner.

WR N’KEAL HARRY
The Patriots first-round pick hasn’t played in the Patriots’ past two preseason games with lower-body injuries. He impressed with two contested catches before going down in Week 1 of the preseason. He could emerge as a starter if he gets healthy soon.

Special teams coordinator/wide receiver coach Joe Judge: “He can only control what he can control, and right now he’s doing everything he can day-by-day to get better. My role is to mentally keep him engaged and move him forward so when we have him back, he’s ready to pick up at full stride as much as he can and keep playing.”

CB JOEJUAN WILLIAMS
The second-round pick has only let up two catches on eight targets in preseason action. He shut down Tennessee Titans wide receiver Corey Davis in Week 2 of the preseason. He could be a matchup defender this season.

Cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino: “He’s a good kid, works hard. I’ve got a lot of guys I’m dealing with right now. Just as a group, everyone’s working well together and competing every single day, which I think is the most important thing. They’ve grown as a group, which is equally as important.”

OLB CHASE WINOVICH
Winovich impressed in his first two preseason games but took a step back after taking on a starting role Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers. He’ll be competing for reps on third down.

Outside linebackers coach DeMarcus Covington: “I would say Chase is a hard working guy. He’s one of the first ones out there in practice, last one off the field. He’s a guy that has come in trying to learn the defense. He comes in, works hard every day. He’s been doing a good job for us. …

“I think his high motor is the reason why he’s here, why he’s been so successful in football. He plays with a lot of passion, a lot of effort, a lot of energy. That’s part of him. I think that’s the reason why he’s here. I don’t want to keep him from doing that.”

RB DAMIEN HARRIS
Harris rushed 14 times for 80 yards in the Patriots’ second preseason game but left Thursday’s game against the Panthers with an injury. He’s fourth on the running back depth chart.

Running backs coach Ivan Fears: “Kid has worked hard. Smart guy, tough guy, we love his work habits. Doing a very good job — very, very good job. He seems to be learning the offense very well, so we’ll see. We’ll see.

OT YODNY CAJUSTE
The West Virginia product has been on the non-football injury list all summer. He hasn’t been spotted at a single practice this spring or summer.

OL HJALTE FROHOLDT
The Denmark-native has received a ton of reps this preseason. He’s been up and down through three games and is likely to be behind veteran Ted Karras on the interior offensive line depth chart.

Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia: “I don’t think Hjalte’s a raw player. The guy played at a high level of competition. I think his background in football is not great. He played in high school in America. And he played in college in America. I think he’s a bright kid, and he understands a lot of things. What we’re trying to do with him is get him to be more disciplined in the things he does and less wild in the things he does. And he’s had four holding penalties in three games. And that’s unacceptable. There’s habits there we have to fix and techniques we have to get better with him. The kid’s working hard, and he’s trying his best to do it right. We’re pleased with his development, but we’ve got a ways to go.”

QB JARRETT STIDHAM
The fourth-round quarterback has shined all summer. He’s made some regrettable throws in the preseason but has yet to throw an interception.

Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels: “Jarrett, he’s a good kid. He loves football. He’s a hard worker. He comes in every day, he makes mistakes every day like they all do as rookies, and he gets better. He takes coaching, he listens well and he can improve from one day to the next if he’ll just take the things we’re talking about in the meeting room and apply them to the field the next day. He’s demonstrated toughness. He’s taken some hits. He’s been accurate when we’ve given him time to throw. Generally speaking, he’s run the offense somewhat the way we would like him to run it. There’s huge room for improvement. I don’t think there’s a rookie in the national football league after three preseason games that you wouldn’t’ say that about. Our goal is to just get a little better every day with him.”

DT BYRON COWART
Cowart appears to be pushing for a starting job as a fifth-round pick. He’s been a late-riser in training camp.

Defensive line coach Bret Bielema: “Byron, in general, I would say he’s a guy the good lord has blessed with a lot of tools. He definitely has great power, great strength. He’s very, very coachable. Good football IQ. He learns. He’s a guy that after he’d been here for a while, he quickly realized literally the pressure to get better every day. I think that’s the biggest thing that you’ll experience from the college to the NFL is there’s no redshirt year, no development time. It’s literally you’re evaluated and judged on a daily performance, and he’s really adapted to that very well.”

P JAKE BAILEY
The Stanford product beat out his competition, Ryan Allen, to be the Patriots’ punter. He has a huge leg.

Judge: “Physically, he’s got a lot of upside, and he’s taken a very professional approach to what he’s doing. It’s not an easy situation he’s stepped into, but right now he’s competing his butt off every day, and he’s handling it as best as we can ask him to.”

CB KEN WEBSTER
The Patriots late-round pick started the summer on PUP and is a longshot to make the roster with plenty of competition above him.

Pellegrino: “Just like everyone else, it’s not like he wasn’t in meetings. He’s learning and improving. The same thing just like everyone else. He has to deal with different challenges every day and got to mentally be prepared and good to go and handle adversity just like everyone else.”