The fourth straight day of practice saw the New England Patriots dial back the intensity and competition. Thursday’s session on the fields behind Gillette Stadium was a walkthrough, with the pads that were part of the action the last three days ditched in favor of shirts and shorts.
You can recap the action (or lack thereof) here. Nonetheless, there are a few players who still caught our eye during the 89-minute event.
Standout of the day
As was the case during the first walkthrough, there were no competitive drills or team periods on Friday. As a consequence, we will again not pick anybody as today’s standout. There were some developments from a depth chart perspective — more on those in a second — but other than that it was a quiet day.
Other performances of note
RB Lan Larison: An undrafted rookie out of UC Davis, Larison started training camp as a backup option at the running back position. It seems unlikely that Thursday changed his standing on the depth chart behind top trio Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson, but the latter being absent from the walkthrough allowed Larison to see reps with the starting offense around quarterback Drake Maye. An opportunity, if nothing else.
WR Mack Hollins and WR Kayshon Boutte: After missing the first seven practices of camp on the physically unable to perform list, Hollins returned to camp on Thursday. While he was not able to show of what he brings to the offense in a competitive setting, he did take on a prominent role right out of the gate and spent considerable time with top wideouts DeMario Douglas and Stefon Diggs. And while his comeback did cut into Kayshon Boutte’s reps as the top outside receiver, the latter still saw plenty of reps with Drake Maye. At the moment, Boutte projects as a top four wide receiver even with Hollins in the fold.
C Ben Brown and C Cole Strange: In lieu of starting center Garrett Bradbury, the Patriots again relied on Ben Brown to fill the top spot at the heart of the offensive line on Thursday. At the moment, he clearly appears to be ahead of Cole Strange, who finds himself relegated to little more than a depth option. After losing his starting spot at left guard to rookie Jared Wilson earlier in the week, the former first-rounder is now effectively New England’s third-string center. Thursday served as additional confirmation of his status.
The Patriots will return to work on Friday for what will be their fifth straight practice of the week and ninth overall this summer. There will be a change of procedure, though: the session will not be open to the general public, but rather an exclusive in-stadium event for season ticket holders and Foxborough residents. Practice will kick of at 6 p.m. ET.
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