Back at home, the New England Patriots held the 17th practice of this year’s training camp on Monday. The 90-minute session on the grounds behind Gillette Stadium was held in shells and shorts, but it was not lacking any action.
For a recap of practice, please click here. For who caught our eye for better or worse, just keep reading.
LB Robert Spillane: The Patriots defense had a solid day on Monday, led by its future captain: Spillane had a good day that featured a pair of interceptions versus Drake Maye and the top offense. The first came in 7-on-7s, when he provided tight coverage against Hunter Henry and was able to get his hands on the ball for the pick. The second happened in a full-team period, when the instinctive linebacker reeled in a pass in an end-of-the-half setting that went high over the middle without a clear target in sight.
Other performances of note
QB Drake Maye: The Patriots’ starting quarterback has had better practices. Outside of his two interceptions, he also struggled with consistency. Maye was off-target on passes to Stefon Diggs (wheel) and Hunter Henry (seam), and also saw one of his passes deflected by Jabrill Peppers near the goal line. He did have his fair share of good plays as well, but the second-year QB did ride the rollercoaster a bit on Monday.
OL Jared Wilson and OL Ben Brown: New England shook up its offense line yet again on Monday. Rookie Jared Wilson was back with the first-team unit, returning to the left guard spot he had manned before suffering an ankle issue in Minnesota. His comeback meant that guard/center hybrid Ben Brown was pushed from the starters to the second-string offense again.
OL Cole Strange: Strange’s ability to line up at all three interior spots might end up saving his roster spot, but a return to the starting lineup looks like a long shot at this point in time. That is especially true at center given his repeated snapping issues. On Monday, he was involved in two botched plays: the first a fumble on an exchange, the second a high snap.
ED Harold Landry III: New England’s pass rush continues to give the O-line all it can handle, with veteran Harold Landry leading the charge on Monday. The free agency pickup registered a would-be sack on each of the first two snaps of competitive 11-on-11 team drills. He first got around right tackle Demontrey Jacobs and later got home up the middle running a stunt.
Other players worth mentioning include cornerback D.J. James, who returned from injury and promptly made a play on the ball again. Meanwhile, Mack Hollins continues to get integrated into the top-level defense, while Joshua Dobbs and Antonio Gibson had a nice connection on a vertical pattern. On the other end of the spectrum was Kyle Dugger, whose fall from grace has led to him now being arguably the NFL’s highest-paid scout team player.
The Patriots will be back at practice on Tuesday for their final session ahead of the preseason finale.
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