Patriots Training Camp Observations: Everything We Saw On Day 8

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots held their eighth practice of training camp on Thursday morning. Here’s everything we observed during the full-contact session:

ATTIRE
Full pads.

ATTENDANCE
This was another light day for Matthew Judon and Trent Brown. Both were present at practice but not in pads, and neither took part in any positional or team drills.

The same six players remained out of practice:

G Cole Strange
G Mike Onwenu
OT Calvin Anderson
WR/RB Ty Montgomery
LB Terez Hall
ST Cody Davis

Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, offensive lineman Chasen Hines, defensive lineman DaMarcus Mitchell and safety Brad Hawkins were limited. More on Thornton below.

Linebacker/safety Marte Mapu and tight end Johnny Lumpkin practiced in red non-contact jerseys, with Lumpkin sporting one for the first time.

QB REPORT
Mac Jones: 18-for-25, INT in 11-on-11s

Bailey Zappe: 14-for-17, INT

Trace McSorley: 4-for-8

This was the busiest day yet for Jones, who didn’t attempt more than 15 passes in competitive full-team drills in any of the first seven practices. It was another solid one, too, though the quarterback wasn’t quite as crisp as he was during Wednesday’s 13-for-15 showing.

Jones’ best pass: a 45-yarder to wide receiver Tre Nixon, who beat Jabrill Peppers in coverage. His worst: a throw to Nixon in the subsequent period that was intercepted by Kyle Dugger. Jones also had an ill-advised heave into the end zone to Demario Douglas that might have been picked by Jonathan Jones had the cornerback not been wearing pads on his hands.

Nixon was one of several new targets for Jones on Day 8 as the Patriots made a notable change to their personnel deployment. The Patriots’ starting QB continued to operate with the top offensive line — what was left of it, anyway, with Brown, Strange and Onwenu all sidelined — and running backs, but he spent the first half of practice throwing to backups at receiver and tight end.

Nixon and Douglas notched their first 11-on-11 receptions from Jones of camp, and Kayshon Boutte tallied his second. During these same periods, Zappe worked behind the second-team O-line and had JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki as his pass-catchers.

Jones viewed that setup as a “challenge” from head coach Bill Belichick.

“He’s trying to make it hard on us, and that’s a good thing, right?” he said after practice.

New England returned to its typical first/second-team setup when it transitioned to goal-line and two-minute work. Jones went 9-for-13 once he reunited with his usual receivers and tight ends, hitting Smith-Schuster for a 5-yard touchdown on a slant and Bourne for a toe-tapping sideline catch at the goal line. He also fed Parker during this stretch, resulting in three completions and pass breakups by Jonathan Jones and rookie Isaiah Bolden.

Zappe had an efficient day outside of one bad red-zone decision. He tried to hit Douglas on a slant but fired the ball straight to Adrian Phillips for an end-zone INT.

ASSORTED OBSERVATIONS
— Cornerback Jack Jones left the practice field in frustration after a competitive 11-on-11 rep against Bourne. It initially looked like he might have been ejected, but he returned roughly 20 minutes later. He never checked back in, though, watching the rest of practice from the sideline.

Director of player personnel Matt Groh, safety Jalen Mills and Peppers all had conversations with Jones after his return. For a full breakdown of what we saw during that puzzling sequence, click here.

— One day after lamenting his limited camp workload, Rhamondre Stevenson was back to full-go. This was the first time New England’s lead back fully participated in a padded practice this summer.

Stevenson caught five of six targets from Mac Jones and took two handoffs in 11-on-11 drills. He also had one of the top reps of running back/linebacker 1-on-1s when he breezed past Olakunle Fatukasi for a deep-ball touchdown.

The Patriots let his backups take most of the punishment on running plays, with Kevin Harris, Pierre Strong and J.J. Taylor logging nine carries between them and handling all of the goal-line reps.

— Strong day for Bourne and Smith-Schuster. Patriots QBs were 6-of-7 when targeting the former and 5-of-5 on passes to the latter in 11-on-11s.

Bourne’s nifty footwork on the aforementioned catch from Jones was one of the highlights of practice. He’s been more involved of late after a quiet start to the summer. Head coach Bill Belichick recently said Bourne had one of the Patriots’ best offseasons.

Smith-Schuster’s red-zone score prompted some post-play dancing from Jones.

Parker came alive late in practice with four targets and three catches from Jones in a six-play span.

This was arguably the strongest collective performance to date by New England’s projected top wideouts. But one player expected to be part of that group is lagging behind.

Thornton caught just two total passes in competitive team drills — both from Zappe — over the first six practices, and he was a limited participant in each of the last two. And that’s after missing most of the spring with a reported soft-tissue injury.

There’s still time for him to rebound, but this has not been an encouraging start for the 2022 second-round pick.

— Someone who most certainly is off to an encouraging start is Douglas. The sixth-round rookie caught just one of his four targets in team drills Thursday, but he ate Marcus Jones’ lunch in 1-on-1s for the second straight day.

Douglas swept his three matchups against Jones and is 5-0 overall in 1-on-1s this summer, with four wins over Jones and one over Shaun Wade. His quickness and route-running are superb, especially for someone who lasted until pick No. 210 in the draft.

The Liberty product also showed off his elusiveness in a live 1-on-1 tackling drill — a rarity in Patriots training camp. Quandre Mosely, Wade and Rodney Randle all tried to bring down the 5-foot-8, 192-pounder, and none came close to corraling him. This kid is legit.

“That’s my guy,” Mac Jones said after practice.

— Boutte, who broke out Wednesday after a self-described “slow” start to camp, had another good day. He caught his only target from Mac Jones and beat fellow rookie Ameer Speed for a highlight-reel touchdown from Zappe. More positive strides from a player who once looked like a potential first-round prospect.

— With Jack Jones a spectator for the second half of practice, Bolden saw some late reps with the starting defense and broke up a long bomb to Parker.

The rangy seventh-rounder out of Jackson State has had some ups and downs in coverage in his first taste of NFL action, but that was at least his fourth PBU of camp. Bolden also had an interception Wednesday on a poorly thrown pass by McSorley.

— Gonzalez still looks very much like a Week 1 starter at cornerback, but he struggled a bit physically in each of the last two padded practices, especially when matched up against Parker.

The big-bodied wideout beat Gonzalez on back-to-back reps Thursday after also outmuscling him for a touchdown on Wednesday. Gonzalez also won just one of his reps in 1-on-1s over the two practices, though that one was a nice pass breakup against Smith-Schuster.

There’s been far more good than bad from the Patriots’ top draft pick this summer, but how he matches up against burlier, tougher receivers will be something to watch early in his career. He also lost the quicker Bourne on the sideline completion from Mac Jones.

Gonzalez did have one impressive flash of physicality when he shot in to pop Raleigh Webb on a screen pass, drawing a big cheer from the defensive sideline.

— He’ll need to prove he can be accurate in game situations, but rookie kicker Chad Ryland’s leg looks much, much stronger than Nick Folk’s. He was booming the ball on field-goal attempts. Folk, meanwhile, had one from inside 50 yards Wednesday that fell short of the goal post.

— Strange, Brown, Judon, Thornton, Montgomery and Anderson returned to the main field to watch 11-on-11s.

It remains unclear what’s ailing Anderson, who was placed on the non-football injury list before the start of camp and has yet to be activated. Asked about the offensive tackle’s status earlier this week, Belichick declined to say whether he expects Anderson to play this season.

— Former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was a special guest at practice.

What are Julian Edelman and Bill Belichick talking about during Patriots Training Camp today?#ForeverNE | #NFL pic.twitter.com/jnA3fiZ85x

— NESN (@NESN) August 3, 2023

UP NEXT
The Patriots’ annual in-stadium practice for season-ticket holders and Foxboro residents is scheduled for Friday night at 6 p.m. ET. Fans in attendance will get their first look at Gillette Stadium’s new super-sized video board, which was under construction all last season.

They’re then scheduled to practice Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before taking on the Houston Texans next Thursday in their preseason opener.