Three Studs, Three Duds Through Two Weeks Of Patriots Practices

FOXBORO, Mass. — Believe it or not, the Patriots now are through two weeks of training camp.

New England will take Wednesday off before hosting the Houston Texans on Thursday for a preseason matchup. After that, the Patriots will visit the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans for joint practices and preseason games — with no return trip in between — then return home for roster cutdowns, a one-week dark period and, finally, the season opener. There might be a local practice or two mixed in along the way, but, for the most part, the gauntlet of public practices in Foxboro is over.

Roughly half of the first 12 practices saw Patriots players wearing full pads, with shorts and shells the attire for the other half. Either way, it’s fair to say that most of the sessions were rather light on intensity, likely due to the changing of times in the NFL. So, it’s hard to get a true feel for how certain players performed.

Nevertheless, with New England reaching a significant summer checkpoint, it’s time to take stock of what we’ve witnessed on the practice fields at Gillette Stadium.

Here are three studs and three duds from the Patriots’ first two weeks of camp:

STUDS
WR Demario Douglas
You could argue he’s been New England’s best receiver since the start of camp. Yes, a large chunk of the sixth-round rookie receiver’s workload has come with backups, but Douglas also has seen increasing opportunities with the Mac Jones-led offense. Regardless of where he’s played, Douglas has used speed, quickness and savvy route-running to consistently get open. Fans shouldn’t get ahead of themselves, and Douglas still must prove himself in joint practices, but he looks like a real factor.

QB Mac Jones
When Jones has gotten protection (more on that later), he’s looked very good in Bill O’Brien’s offense. The gap between him and Bailey Zappe is sizable, and we’ve seen nothing to indicate the Patriots are holding a real quarterback competition. Jones looks like how he should’ve looked last summer when his development was derailed by coaching dysfunction. None of this is to say that Jones is playing like a superstar; rather, he looks like a legitimate, starting-caliber NFL quarterback.

LB Ja’Whaun Bentley
The veteran linebacker quietly has put together a very good training camp. Normally a traditional inside linebacker, Bentley has shown increased versatility, including lining up on the edge. It’s rare to see him make any glaring mistakes, and his knowledge of the Patriots defense is evident. Is Bentley anywhere near as good as his predecessor and mentor, Dont’a Hightower? No, but he’s a rock-solid player in his own right.

Honorable mentions: Josh Uche, David Andrews, Marte Mapu, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones, Jabrill Peppers, Mack Wilson, Bryce Baringer, Deatrich Wise, Matt Sokol

DUDS
WR Tyquan Thornton
It hasn’t been good. The Patriots were hoping the 2022 second-round pick would take a big step forward in his development this summer, and it just hasn’t happened. At this point, Thornton is closer to the bottom of New England’s receiver depth chart than the top. His speed remains a real weapon, but Thornton’s durability and actual pass-catching abilities have prevented him from emerging as a trusted piece in the offense. It still is too early to label the 23-year-old a “bust,” but the arrow is pointing in the wrong direction.

All right tackles
Riley Reiff entered camp as the presumed starting right tackle, and he eventually was demoted in favor of Conor McDermott, who should be a backup. Swing tackle Calvin Anderson still can’t get on the field, and rookie Sidy Sow, who played mostly guard in college, has seen most of his reps with the third-team offense. Andrew Stueber, a seventh-round pick in 2022, appears bound for the practice squad. All have played poorly, leaving right tackle as arguably New England’s biggest concern through two weeks.

CB Marcus Jones
We probably are being too hard on the second-year pro, who is immensely talented, but Jones hasn’t had a great camp. He looked much better in Monday’s practice, but on the whole, he hasn’t done anything that would make you believe he’s ready to be a starting cornerback in the pros. However, he also hasn’t done anything to make you believe he’s a backup. Jones has been just OK, and that alone is somewhat disappointing.

Honorable mentions: Bill Murray, Kendrick Bourne, Bailey Zappe, Trent Brown, Pierre Strong, Sam Roberts, Mike Gesicki, Shaun Wade