Patriots Takeaways: Rookie Wideout Impresses During Day 1 Of Minicamp

FOXBORO, Mass. — Patriots second-round receiver Ja’Lynn Polk was the best wideout on the field during New England’s first mandatory minicamp session at Gillette Stadium on Monday.

Polk, who was relatively quiet during team drills in prior open-to-media sessions, caught three passes with a pair of touchdowns. He caught one pass each from Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye and Bailey Zappe.

Polk and Brissett connected for a touchdown during goal line 7-on-7s. The Washington product, who was selected No. 34 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, went untouched as he broke to the outside. The snapshot depicted Polk’s fluidity in his route-running. Polk followed it up with a touchdown from Zappe just a few snaps later.

“The good thing about a lot of our young guys is they’re understanding what we’re asking them to do,” Brissett said after practice. “Polk, for example, he’s making so many plays in the red zone today — big, strong catches. And that’s what we need him to do.

“He’s starting to do that on a consistent basis and his level in this offense is going up.”

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Here are more takeaways from Day 1 of mandatory minicamp:

— Brissett (30) and Maye (29) were neck and neck for snaps Monday, a difference from previous open-to-media sessions. Just last week in the final open-to-media OTA practice, Brissett (25) out-snapped Maye (14) and Zappe (10) combined.

Maye, however, had his most impressive day of the spring. While Brissett continues to work with the ones, Maye might have had a better day than Brissett. That would be a first this spring, too.

— Zappe threw a pick-six to Kyle Dugger on his first snap of the second 11-on-11 period. It resulted in Zappe being replaced by Joe Milton III, who received just six total snaps in team drills.

Zappe almost had another interception in the final 11-on-11 period, but it was dropped by safety and core special teamer Brenden Schooler.

— Patriots pass rusher Matthew Judon, who did not attend voluntary OTAs, was back on the field. He worked with the starters during the opening 11-on-11 period.

— Jonathan Jones, who also did not take part in OTAs, returned. But he did not take part in team drills.

— Jalen Reagor had a good practice for the offense. Reagor, who will be competing for a spot in a jam-packed receiver room, caught five of the six passes thrown his way. He turned a Brissett pass into a big gain during the opening 11-on-11 period and hauled in a touchdown from Maye during red zone 7-on-7s.

— Mike Onwenu, thought to be penciled in at right tackle, worked at right guard Monday. Rookie Caedan Wallace played at right tackle next to Onwenu during those snaps.

— Rhamondre Stevenson believes he’s pretty close to a contract extension with the Patriots.

“I will say this about Rhamondre: I think he’s one of the better backs in the league,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said. “It’s no doubt about it. I think over the last few years, it’s been kind of tough on him, as far as getting started. So, I’m excited to see what he does this season. And look, he’s earned everything that he gets. He is our starting running back and hopefully we do get something done.”

— Mayo joked that Jahlani Tavai has been knocking on his door telling the coach he can also take over kickoff duties, as some other teams have practiced positional players at the position due to the new rules.