Here Are Criteria For Awards Recently Won By Mac Jones, Other Patriots

FOXBORO, Mass. — On Saturday, we learned that 12 Patriots players, including quarterback Mac Jones, were named New England’s offseason program award winners.

But what does that mean?

Bill Belichick was asked that question before Sunday’s training camp practice, and actually went into decent detail. But first, let’s go over the list of players who won the awards, which honor performances from the portion of the offseason program that took place over parts of three months in the spring.

QB Mac Jones
C David Andrews
TE Hunter Henry
TE Mike Gesicki
G Cole Strange
LB Ja’Whaun Bentley
LB Chris Board
DB Myles Bryant
DB Jabrill Peppers
DL Deatrich Wise
ST Matthew Slater
ST Brendan Schooler

When asked to detail the criteria for the awards, Belichick explained that Patriots coaches look at a variety of factors.

“We take input from all the coaching staff members. Strength staff, conditioning,” New England’s head coach said. “On the field, meeting rooms, classrooms, leadership. A little bit of everything.”

Belichick then was asked whether attendance — OTAs are voluntary; minicamp is mandatory — play a role in deciding who gets the awards.

“Participation’s a factor, sure,” he said. “All those things are taken into consideration. Kind of nominate the guys, and pick the ones we think are most deserving. There’s a lot of guys that had great offseasons; I wouldn’t limit it to our offseason award winners. But they stood out.”

Belichick added: “Part of it’s leadership, participation, improvement. It’s not any one thing. We just put it all together and take guys from various positions.”

Notably, the list of winners doesn’t include receiver Kendrick Bourne, whom Belichick applauded Sunday for having one of the Patriots’ “best” offseasons. But the list does include Strange, who garnered similar praise last week.

New England will practice each day next week, including Friday’s in-stadium event for season ticket holders. The Patriots are expected to wear pads for the first time on Monday.