Stefon Diggs, rookie wide receiver shine

FOXBORO — Moments before opening their first practice of the summer Wednesday, the Patriots packed into a large huddle at midfield. Mike Vrabel stood at the center and spoke.

Whatever Vrabel told his team over the minute or so that they gathered seemed to echo his previous messaging this offseason, about playing fast and with urgency, efficiency and energy, and a finishing mentality.

Because once he finished, the huddle splintered, with players sprinting to all corners of the field for their first drills of the day. Music blared. Football, finally, had arrived.

This was our first look at the 2025 Patriots. Other snapshots?

Drake Maye went 8-of-9 in team periods, despite a difficult day of pass protection. Stefon Diggs showed zero rust coming off an ACL tear, and a rookie receiver matched him with two catches. A little-known cornerback reeled in the first interception of the summer.

Elsewhere, Will Campbell got beat for a sack, another rookie O-lineman worked with the starters, the backbone of the secondary returned and lots more.

Here are the Herald’s complete practice observations:

Attendance

Non-participant: WR Ja’Lynn Polk

PUP: TE Austin Hooper, OT Vederian Lowe, WR Mack Hollins

NFI: S Josh Minkins

Notes: Polk was the only surprise absence Wednesday. He was limited, but present, for spring practices after offseason shoulder surgery. All other missing players were placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list or Non-Football Injury (NFI) list last weekend.

In a bit of good news, veteran cornerback Carlton Davis came off NFI on Wednesday, and Jahlani Tavai returned after a scary calf injury he suffered in early June.

Play of the Day

Hunter Henry’s back-shoulder grab

Late in practice, Drake Maye wanted his trusty tight end and found him.

Hunter Henry had aligned tight to the left side of the formation, and at the snap, took off on a wheel route. Veteran linebacker Robert Spillane trailed in coverage. Perfect.

Maye lofted a back-shoulder throw inside the left numbers, and Henry made a 180-degree, right-to-left jumping spin over Spillane. He snatched the ball and crashed to the ground for a reception covering almost 20 yards, one of the longest of the day.

Player of the Day

WR Kyle Williams

Nice job, kid.

The Patriots’ third-round rookie speedster tied Stefon Diggs with two catches from team drills, both passes from Maye. He secured the second-most impressive grab on a comeback route along the left sideline, shielding off Christian Gonzalez who was on his back trying to knock the ball away. Instead Williams held strong and tucked out of bounds, drawing well-deserved praise from his offensive teammates and coaches.

QB Corner

Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 11-on-11 periods only.

Drake Maye: 8-of-9, 4 sacks

Joshua Dobbs: 2-of-6, INT

Notes: Maye sprayed completions all afternoon, around one near interception and three would-be sacks over his first five dropbacks. Maye would have been dropped once by Keion White, who beat rookie left tackle Will Campbell, and could have avoided the other two with a quicker trigger. Linebacker Christian Elliss beat his man in blitz pickup for one “sack,” and Maye got swarmed on the other in a closing pocket.

Through the air, he started by hitting Stefon Diggs on a shallow cross, then DeMario Douglas in the flat before taking his first sack. Later in the same period, he found Diggs on a curl route moments after Elliss punctured the pocket and fired incomplete for Douglas on a deep pass Jabrill Peppers nearly picked off down the middle of the field. Peppers got two hands on the ball while leaping backwards, but lost control as he landed on his back.

In the second and final 11-on-11 period, Maye connected with Henry on the back-shoulder throw and rookie receiver Kyle Williams twice: first on a checkdown in the left flat, then a comeback route. His final passes were completions to Antonio Gibson on another checkdown left, and third-year wideout Kayshon Boutte running a deep curl moments after edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson zipped by Maye for what would have been a sack in a game setting.

Dobbs struggled with his accuracy, including a deep, underthrown ball intended for Javon Baker that resulted in an interception for backup corner DJ James. Kendrick Bourne, off a ricochet and collision with rookie safety Craig Woodson, caught Dobbs’ first completion running a deep cross, and second-year wideout John Jiles secured the other on an out route.

Studs

DL Keion White

White tallied the cleanest sack of any defender in team drills, beating Campbell almost immediately off the left side. He also ran regularly with the top defense, a good sign for someone entering a critical year in his young career.

CB DJ James

Even though James’ interception was somewhat of a gift, he tracked the ball well and set up camp underneath to clinch the turnover. More plays like that could lead to James making an unlikely run at a roster spot.

Duds

QB Joshua Dobbs

A rough day for the Patriots’ backup quarterback, who also had sporadic accuracy in the spring.

C Ben Brown

Brown, last year’s starting center after former captain David Andrews went down, was in the middle of a botched snap involving undrafted rookie quarterback Ben Wooldridge. The rookie finished 3-of-4 passing.

Offensive notes

• Top targets in team drills: WR Stefon Diggs 2/2, WR Kyle Williams 2/2, WR DeMario Douglas 1/2, WR John Jiles 1/2, WR Javon Baker 0/2
• Drops: N/A
• Top offensive line: LT Will Campbell, LG Cole Strange, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Mike Onwenu, RT Morgan Moses

Running backs

• Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson led off team periods. Stevenson finished without a catch.
• Second-round rookie TreVeyon Henderson took most of his snaps with the second-team offense, showing the same burst and long speed that made him a top college prospect. His true test will come later during padded practices, when he can fully engage in blitz pickup.
• In a mild surprise – granted, on Day 1 of camp – the Patriots executed predominantly zone-blocked runs; a mix of outside and inside schemes.

Wide receivers

• Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte saw significant time with Maye, while rookie Kyle Williams also saw notable first-team reps.
• Diggs saw two of Maye’s first four targets, a small but noteworthy indicator of Maye’s desire to start building chemistry with his top receiver. The 31-year-old showed zero limitations on the field, winning from the slot and outside.
• Williams was the only other player to finish with two catches, ripping up the sideline on a checkdown and later beating Gonzalez. His most successful routes, dating back to the spring, have all been out-breakers; something to monitor as camp progresses.
• The Patriots seem intent on weaponizing Douglas as a deep threat, though the results have been mixed. His lone deep target Wednesday resulted in a near pick for Jabrill Peppers, who drifted backwards while Marcus Jones had tight coverage on Douglas.

Drake Maye delivering pointers, uplifting Patriots in quest for leadership

• Boutte, who took just 12% of his snaps last season from the slot, aligned all across the formation, just like the rest of the receivers. That movement historically has been a staple of Josh McDaniels’ offense.
• Kendrick Bourne repped with the first and second-team offenses, catching his only pass from Dobbs despite colliding with rookie safety Craig Woodson.
• Former fourth-round pick Javon Baker did not reel in either of his two targets, both inaccurate passes from Dobbs.

Tight ends

• A quiet day for the tight ends, who remain without veteran No. 2 option Austin Hooper.
• Hunter Henry snagged his lone target — the back-shoulder grab — and routinely led off team drills.
• The lack of a third tight end will prove to be a problem if/when Henry or Hooper suffer an injury during the regular season. For now, the team seems intent on allowing undrafted rookies CJ Dippre and Gee Scott battle it out with holdovers Jaheim Bell and Jack Westover. Scott was the only one among them to finish with a reception in team drills.
• Rookie fullback Brock Lampe briefly worked close to the line of scrimmage, a la a tight end. In the past, the Patriots have coached fullbacks and tight ends together. Lampe also started one team drill.

Offensive line

• How did Will Campbell fare? Without the benefit of film review, it’s impossible to assess, and non-padded practices are no place to judge offensive line play. However, he was the victim of one Keion White sack in 11-on-11s.
• Welcome back, Jared Wilson. The third-round rookie took snaps at center and left guard with the starting offense, but did not lead off any period at those positions. Wilson was limited throughout the spring.
• Wilson is the only serious competition for free-agent addition and projected starter Garrett Bradbury, who ranked among the worst pass-protecting centers last year and signed after the Vikings released him in March. A position battle to watch.
• No offensive line position rotated more throughout practice than left guard, where Cole Strange, Caedan Wallace and Wilson saw notable reps. Former fourth-round pick Sidy Sow could factor.
• Right guard Mike Onwenu and right tackle Morgan Moses were mainstays with the top offense. Demontrey Jacobs was first off the bench to replace Moses, who may be more limited than most during camp as part of preserving his body at age 34.

Defensive notes

Top personnel during team periods: defensive linemen Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Keion White, Jeremiah Pharms Jr., Khyris Tonga and Wilfried Pene; linebackers Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, Jack Gibbens, Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson; defensive backs Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Alex Austin, Marcus Jones, Jabrill Peppers, Jaylinn Hawkins, Craig Woodson and Marcus Epps.

Interceptions: CB DJ James

Pass breakups: S Jabrill Peppers

Would-be sacks: DL Keion White, OLB K’Lavon Chaisson, LB Christian Elliss, Team

Defensive linemen

• As expected, Milton Williams, Christian Barmore and Keion White started most periods. Free-agent addition Khyris Tonga joined them in select packages.
• Williams aligned at several spots , seemingly an effort to explore his versatility and potentially allow the staff to leverage his talent against opponents’ weakest offensive linemen on a week-by-week basis.
• Williams and Barmore were on the field for the team “sack,” created by a closing pocket around Maye.
• On the edge, K’Lavon Chaisson was first off the bench, and Harold Landry appeared to jump offside on the initial snap of team periods but pointed at the offensive line, claiming someone had false-started. Play paused, but neither side was penalized.
• Both Chaisson and Landry created pressure — including a sack for Chaisson late — with excellent burst off the line.

Linebackers

• Jahlani Tavai and Christian Elliss took turns next to Robert Spillane in the middle of the Patriots’ defense. Spillane is a loud signal caller and a solid bet to become a captain in his first season.
• Elliss tallied his would-be sack on a blitz off the left side. He ranks among most athletic linebackers and best blitzers on the team regardless of position.
• But Elliss will need to refine his play diagnosis if he intends to start next to Spillane. Ex-Titan Jack Gibbens is the only other contender at that spot, though Tavai and Elliss both repped ahead of him Wednesday.

Defensive backs

• They’re back. Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers opened as the starting safeties again, something they could not do in the spring while Dugger finished his recovery from a high ankle sprain.
• If there was any doubt Dugger and Peppers are among the Patriots’ best four defensive backs alongside corners Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis, the four of them worked to the side on ball drills during an early special teams period that involved all other defensive backs.
• In a changeup from recent Patriots history, the coaches also separated the nickel cornerbacks from the outside corners and safeties during drill work. Mike Vrabel emphasized the importance of the nickelback position in the modern game back in February, and Marcus Jones projects as the team’s starting nickel.
• Jones, cornerback Alex Austin and safeties Jaylinn Hawkins, Marcus Epps and Craig Woodson were first off the bench in team periods.
• Woodson got his hands on a completion that bounced to Kendrick Bourne after they collided and fell to the ground at the end of Bourne’s deep crossing route early in team drills.
• Again, a hat tip to young corner DJ James and Peppers on an interception and near pick, respectively. Peppers dropped to do pushups on the sideline as a form of self-punishment after dropping Maye’s only incompletion.