How Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe Graded Patriots’ Newest QB

FOXBORO, Mass. — Malik Cunningham has been navigating unfamiliar territory since he joined the New England Patriots in May.

The undrafted rookie is trying to earn a roster spot as a wide receiver — a position he’s never played at any level of football. He’s also playing on special teams, which he’d never done in his life before he joined the Patriots. It’s been a tough adjustment, to say the least.

Monday’s practice, however, offered a return to normalcy for Cunningham. After operating as a wideout for the first half of Day 11 of Patriots training camp, he switched gears and logged more reps at quarterback — the position at which he excelled at Louisville — than he had in any previous New England practice.

The Patriots still list Cunningham as a QB on their official roster, and he saw occasional work there in earlier spring and summer sessions. But this was the first time the 24-year-old lined behind center in any competitive drills.

Per NESN.com’s tracking, Cunningham took 16 reps at quarterback in full-team drills, plus a few more in a slower-paced scout-team period at the end of practice. He was 4-for-6 passing with completions to Thyrick Pitts, Raleigh Webb, Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte. Cunningham’s accuracy was a bit erratic — his throw to Boutte sailed high, requiring the rookie wideout to make a sensational one-handed catch — and he didn’t look fully comfortable running New England’s offense, but he flashed his renowned athleticism on a couple of keepers.

“He’s a dude, man,” backup quarterback Bailey Zappe said after practice. “To be able to learn from the receiver aspect and then kind of translate it to quarterback, it actually is probably really good for him to know both of it. It helps him understand the offense as a whole. So to see what he did (on Monday) out there in his reps that he got was pretty cool.”

Cunningham started 47 games at quarterback at Louisville, where he succeeded Lamar Jackson. Like Jackson, Cunningham was a dangerous rushing threat, leading all FBS signal-callers in rushing yards in 2021 (1,031) and racking up 32 rushing touchdowns over his final two collegiate seasons.

At the NFL Scouting Combine this spring, Cunningham posted a 40-yard dash time that ranked in the 95th percentile among QBs and a 10-yard split that ranked in the 97th percentile, per Mockdraftable. He was not among the 14 quarterbacks selected in the 2023 NFL Draft but signed with the Patriots shortly thereafter, receiving more guaranteed money ($200,000) than any New England UDFA before him.

Cunningham later revealed that the Patriots were the only team to work him out as a receiver before the draft — offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien did so personally — and wideout has been his primary focus since signing. He’s gotten tips from Julian Edelman, who made the same position switch back in 2009, and studied film of the former Patriots slot receiver.

The transition process has been slow. Cunningham is near the bottom of the wide receiver depth chart and hasn’t caught many passes in team periods, though he did have some nice moments in recent 1-on-1 drills. And his multipositional ability makes him a fascinating developmental prospect.

“He’s very athletic,” starting quarterback Mac Jones said. “He’s a smart kid. He works hard. He doesn’t get a lot of reps, but you can see when he’s in there, he’s a little bit of a playmaker.”

It’s unclear how the Patriots plan to use Cunningham during the preseason, which begins Thursday against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium, but it’s possible he could both catch passes and throw them as he makes his case for a roster spot.

Tight end Mike Gesicki was another teammate who praised Cunningham’s athletic traits and playmaking ability, but he acknowledged the difficulty of trying to learn two different positions as an undrafted rookie.

“It’s definitely complicated,” Gesicki said, “but being a receiver in this system, he understands the timing and spacing of routes and understands the concepts. Pass game, obviously you still have to read the coverage and make that final read and put the ball on time.

“But I think some of the complications might be run game, Mike (linebacker) points, stuff like that, which I’m sure he’ll still do a great job at, and our coaches will do a great job preparing him.”

Regardless, Cunningham will be a player to watch when the Patriots hold their first exhibition game Thursday night.