FOXBORO — Wednesday’s joint practice with the Commanders served as a measuring stick for the Patriots’ new-look offense.
For two weeks, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and quarterback Drake Maye have faced off against their own offense to mixed results. The Commanders brought in new blood, and the Patriots’ offense — and especially Maye — passed the litmus test.
And that’s important.
Because the Patriots’ joint practices last season against the Eagles were an outright disaster for the offense. Maye was constantly under siege behind a leaky offensive line facing off against the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles’ pass rush.
Wednesday’s joint practice was also a positive sign for the Patriots’ defense. That unit, led by new defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, provided a better test for the Patriots’ offense through the first two weeks of practice than the Commanders presented.
Overall, it was an efficient day for Maye and the offense, though he did turn the ball over for the first time in a non-scrimmage practice. Wide receivers Mack Hollins and Efton Chism had productive days catching the ball, and Will Campbell was mostly stout while matching up with fresh faces. A third rookie offensive lineman saw extended first-team reps, Mike Vrabel emerged out of a pile with a bloody face, and Kayshon Boutte made another impressive touchdown catch.
Here are the Herald’s complete practice observations:
Attendance
Returned: OT Morgan Moses
Absent: WR Kendrick Bourne, OL Caedan Wallace
Non-participant: CB Christian Gonzalez, OLB K’Lavon Chaisson, LB Jahlani Tavai
Limited: Moses, CB Carlton Davis, WR Stefon Diggs
Notes: Diggs wasn’t present for the beginning of practice during warmups and initial 11-on-11 drills but appeared before 7-on-7s.
Moses only participated in walk-through reps before the Commanders climbed up from the lower practice field to the upper practice field, where the Patriots went through warmups. Moses lined up with the third-team offensive line during warmups, but that was likely only because he wasn’t going to participate during full-team drills. Vrabel didn’t rule out the possibility that Moses could play Friday against the Commanders.
Gonzalez, Chaisson and Tavai were all present in street clothes but didn’t participate in practice.
Davis particpated in warmups and walk-throughs but ran sprints while the rest of the defense faced off against the Commanders in 11-on-11s.
Don’t expect to see Gonzalez, Chaisson, Tavai or Bourne in Friday’s preseason game.
Play of the Day
Boutte’s contested touchdown reception
Maye delivered a perfect pass to Boutte for a back-shoulder catch while tightly covered by Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Boutte showed the strength to create separation at the top of his route with a slight pushoff (there was contact on both sides) and fought through an armbar from Lattimore to haul in the catch before stepping in for the score.
Boutte doesn’t tally up as many short receptions as some of the other Patriots’ wide receivers, but he’s had a knack for big plays in recent practices. He’s also gaining trust from his quarterbacks that he can fight through contact to make contested catches.
Player of the Day
WR Mack Hollins
Hollins was the Patriots’ most productive wide receiver, and he hauled in two touchdowns Wednesday morning — one from each of his quarterbacks.
It wasn’t a perfect performance from Hollins, who caught 5-of-6 targets in 11-on-11s, but he was a chain-mover with intermediate-to-deep receptions from both quarterbacks. One of his touchdowns came on a deep cross from Maye. His second touchdown was hauled in with one arm on a fade from backup QB Joshua Dobbs.
Hollins did have an incompletion go off one of his hands during 7-on-7s from Maye. He also had a drop on an out route from Maye during 11-on-11s. He made up for it with both touchdowns coming on his next two targets.
QB Corner
Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 11-on-11 periods only. The stats in parentheses represent Maye’s camp-long performance.
Drake Maye: 14-of-21, INT, sack (86-of-134, 3 INTs, 20 sacks)
Notes: It was a strong day for Maye as he faced off against a defense that made the postseason last year.
Maye did have an interception, but it was batted at the line of scrimmage by linebacker Bobby Wagner and picked out of the air by cornerback Mike Sainristil, a local product out of Everett, Mass.
Maye said after practice that he could have done a better job of looking off Wagner, but he made a good read and was targeting a wide open DeMario Douglas. In most situations, that batted pass hits the turf for an incompletion. There was some bad fortune involved that it ended up as a turnover.
Of Maye’s seven incompletions, three were dropped. He began 11-on-11 drills hot, going 9-of-12 with downfield completions to Hollins, wide receiver DeMario Douglas and tight end Hunter Henry up the seam on a play-action pass. He finished 5-of-9, but two of his best passes during the second period were dropped by Hollins and Henderson. He delivered a perfect pass to his rookie running back, but Henderson couldn’t haul in the over-the-shoulder target. Maye likely would have connected with Diggs in the end zone, but the veteran wideout was held by a Commanders defender. Maye also scrambled for a touchdown during a red-zone period.
Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs was fantastic while facing Commanders backups. Dobbs was 18-of-22 in 11-on-11s and 4-of-6 in 7-on-7s.
Studs
QB Joshua Dobbs
Dobbs three three touchdown passes while completing over 80% of his passes. He went 4-of-6 in 7-on-7s but one of the incompletions was dropped by Henderson. Dobbs was extremely efficient and delivered a perfect pass to Hollins to cap off the Patriots’ offensive periods with the one-arm touchdown reception.
WR Efton Chism
It was one of the undrafted rookie’s more productive practices. He caught 5-of-5 targets and was a security blanket for Dobbs early in 11-on-11s and 7-on-7s.
Duds
RB TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson has been a standout for much of camp and continues to receive first-team reps, but he caught 3-of-6 passes with two drops during team drills. He did pick up a big gain on an outside toss to the left.
RT Demontrey Jacobs
Jacobs, who’s been the primary fill-in for Morgan Moses at right tackle, was 1-3 during 1-on-1 drills. He also saw some of his first-team reps taken over by rookie seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant.
Offensive notes
Top targets in team drills: WR Mack Hollins 5/7, WR DeMario Douglas 4/6, RB TreVeyon Henderson 3/6, WR Efton Chism 5/5, WR Javon Baker 2/5, WR Stefon Diggs 2/5
Drops: RB TreVeyon Henderson: 2, WR DeMario Douglas, WR Mack Hollins
Top offensive line: LT Will Campbell, LG Jared Wilson, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Mike Onwenu, RT Demontrey Jacobs
1-on-1 pass rush winners: RG Mike Onwenu, LG Jared Wilson
1-on-1 pass rush losers: C Garrett Bradbury, OT Marcus Bryant
Running backs
- The Patriots’ first carry of the day saw Rhamondre Stevenson stuffed running to the left side of the line, eliciting a big cheer from the Commanders’ sideline.
- Stevenson led Patriots running backs with four carries.
- Antonio Gibson was a favorite target of Dobbs, catching 4-of-4 passes.
- Henderson saw just one carry. He threw a Commanders pass rusher to the ground in blitz pickup but likely would have been flagged on the play. The block led to a scrap, which Vrabel tried to break up but found himself at the bottom of a pile, emerging with a cut on his face.
- Undrafted rookie Lan Larison caught passes in 11-on-11s and 7-on-7s.
Wide receivers
- Douglas had another solid performance but did drop a pass during 11-on-11 drills. He was a popular targets early in practice and picked up big gains on shallow crossing routes from Maye.
- It was a step back for Baker, who caught just 2-of-5 targets and had a pass broken up against him the back of the end zone. Baker did catch a touchdown on a slant and threw the ball up in the air in celebration. He buried his face in his hands after he threw the ball in the air since he likely would have drawn a flag in game.
- Ja’Lynn Polk was quiet with just one catch on one target.
- Kyle Williams was also quiet with one catch on two targets.
- The battle for a roster spot behind Diggs, Douglas, Hollins, Boutte and Williams remains open. Chism did the most to help himself on Wednesday after a quiet start to camp. Polk and Baker can help themselves in Friday’s preseason game. Bourne won’t make up any ground until he returns from injury.
Tight ends
- Henry and fellow veteran Austin Hooper were steady on Wednesday. Maye’s throw to Henry down the seam off play-action was an overall highlight for the offense and McDaniels’ playcalling.
- Jack Westover, Jaheim Bell, CJ Dippre and Cole Fotheringham were not targeted. Undrafted rookie Gee Scott Jr. caught one pass on one target.
- Scott has shown the most potential out of the tight end candidates for a third spot on the roster.
Offensive line
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- It was a pretty typical day for rookie left tackle Will Campbell. He was 1-1-1 in 1-on-1 drills and allowed what likely would have been a sack during 11-on-11 drills. But overall, there was more good than bad for the fourth overall pick.
- With Moses out, Bryant split reps with Jacobs at right tackle. Consider that a small promotion for the seventh-round pick out of Missouri. Bryant strugged a bit during 1-on-1s, going 1-2 against Commanders pass rushers.
- Rookie Jared Wilson held his own in 1-on-1s, going 2-0-1. Right guard Mike Onwenu had three wins and one loss in 1-on-1s.
- Ben Brown saw more opportunities with the first-team offense. Bradbury was the top center, but Brown also got reps with Maye at quarterback.
- The top backup offensive line featured Jacobs at left tackle, Cole Strange at left guard, Brown at center, Tyrese Robinson at right guard and Jack Conley at right tackle.
Extra points
- Ex-Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola and safety Patrick Chung were in attendance as guests at practice. Rock star Jon Bon Jovi joined owner Robert Kraft on the field. Celtics star Jayson Tatum was also a guest at practice. He was without his walking boot.
- The Patriots will hold a walk-through on Thursday. There’s no media availability. They play their first preseason game of the summer Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the Commanders.
- Tom Brady’s statue will be unveiled with the GOAT in attendance at 6 p.m. on Friday.
