I have seen several reports from the open OTA attended by the horde of local media. If Drake Maye sneezes, the local media will report which way his head was turned.
Maye’s Interceptions
It’s the 1st practice session where the media were present, and Maye didn’t start off well. He threw 4 INTs of his first 9 passes. Let’s put that in perspective. The initial INT was clearly Maye’s fault as he overthrew UDFA TE CJ Dippre. Dell Pettus got the gift INT. On the next play there was some type of miscommunication on a pass to seemingly no one in the flat. Was this on Maye, rookie Kyle Williams or vet Pop Douglas? BTW, this was a great play by Christian Gonzalez, who made a diving catch and got up to take it to the house. Third INT should have been called Defensive Holding as Hunter Henry had his arm held and was only able to get one hand up. He tipped the ball and Craig Woodson made a diving catch. The final INT was a great play by Gonzo. Maye didn’t recognize the Defense was in a zone and Gonzalez came off his man underneath and floated back deep. This was a type of INT that Ty Law would make on Peyton Manning.
Greg Bedard reported that Drake Maye’s hitch in his throwing motion has returned. One of the questions on the Coaching Staff is the hiring of Ashton Grant as the QB coach. He is one of the least experienced coaches on the staff, and he is working with a very young QB. This is something to monitor as the team moves into Training Camp.
Gonzalez is a Shut-Down Corner
Practicing against Gonzalez will only help Maye’s development. He was 2nd team All-Pro last year, and he will be just 23 years old (in June). Last season, he faced the iron of the league’s Wide Receivers. He has only played in 20 games! Also, the Patriots played the 2nd highest amount of man coverage in the league. Gonzo was on an island, and he shined for the Patriots last season. I will add that the Patriots had the worst pass rush in the league, and that meant that the DBs had to cover their WRs for a longer period of time. The QB had all day to pass, and eventually the WRs would work themselves open. I expect a big year from Gonzalez, especially if the pass rush has improved, like it is projected to do. I can’t believe Gonzo was not named to the PFF top 25 under 25. His egregious omission completely dismisses any legitimacy PFF has on this list. PFF embarrassed themselves. I regularly use PFF ratings and rankings, but I am now questioning whether I should use these if PFF has made such a huge mistake. If they are relying strictly on numbers and not taking into consideration the amount of time the QB has to throw, the amount of time the Patriots were in Man Coverage, and the receivers that Gonzalez had to face each week, then their findings are not valid.
Christian Barmore a Full Participant
Barmore, at his press conference, said the words every Patriots fan wanted to hear. He was cleared for Full Football Participation. A clean bill of health. I am happy for Barmore as a human being, never mind a football player. It has been reported that Barmore and Milt Williams have a very healthy competition of who can get into the facility 1st. They are competing in everything, including the weight room. Barmore and Williams could be a devastating combination. Another observation from OTAs is that the speed of the practice was much higher than most “Voluntary” practices in past seasons. The intensity matched the intensity of Mike Vrabel.
Onwenu Non-Participation a Concern
Michael Onwenu was in attendance but was very limited. Greg Bedard pointed out that Onwenu was very out of shape and heavier than he was last year. This is very disconcerting. Onwenu signed a big free-agent contract with the Patriots, making him the highest-paid O-lineman in team history. However, his production last season didn’t match the size of his contract. His PFF Rating was 65.1 which is a true ranking of 38th. A true ranking takes out all players who started 5 or fewer games. Onwenu worked on the side with trainers, as did Morgan Moses. My hope is that he returns to the form he showed in 2021, where he was the 3rd ranked Guard by PFF behind only Joel Bitonio and Zack Martin. I am getting vibes that Onwenu is not committed to football much like Trent Brown. Allowing himself to get out of shape in the off-season and using training camp to get in shape. However, Onwenu hasn’t shown the talent that Brown had. Will Mike Vrabel make an example out of Onwenu to the other players? Is he the test case for Vrabel’s discipline and team-first approach?
Offensive Line Group
The top O-line group was Will Campbell at LT, Cole Strange at LG, Garrett Bradbury at C, Mike Onwenu at RG and Morgan Moses at RT. Jared Wislon was limited as were Morgan Moses and Mike Onwenu. They did not participate in 11 on 11 drills and were working on the sideline with the trainers. Caeden Wallace worked at both Left Tackle and Right Tackle. Demontrey Jacobs worked at both tackles, as it appears there is an open competition for a swing tackle. Sidy Sow was absent from practice. Vederian Lowe was at practice along with WR Mack Hollins but sat out in street clothes.
Craig Woodson May Be the Biggest Surprise
The most criticized draft pick the Patriots made was Safety Craig Woodson from California. Some say that Woodson was a reach at pick # 106, the 4th selection in Round 4. The Patriots had all night to decide who they wanted to draft at the start of Day 3, and they took Woodson. I noted leading up to the draft that Safety was need for this team. This from Phil Perry of NBC Boston “Just reaching out to some people with the team after that finished up [rookie minicamp], the two names I got in terms of most-impressive players at Patriots rookie minicamp; Will Campbell, which you would expect, and Craig Woodson, fourth-round pick out of [California]. They love his football IQ, they love his movement skills.” Woodson had one of the interceptions off Maye on a diving play. According to Perry, Woodson didn’t seem lost out there and in control of the secondary adjustments. I will add that both Kyle Dugger and Jabril Peppers sat out the 11 on 11 session.
UDFA WR Impresses
If you don’t know the name Efton Chism you better get up to speed on this guy. He did not get drafted because he had a 4.71 40. However, he has superior short area quickness by his 6.77 3-cone drill and 4.06 Short Shuttle. He caught 3 of 4 passes thrown his way. He reminds people of a taller Julian Edelman. These are the notes about Chism by NFL Draft Buzz after the East-West Shrine game:
- Quick release and precise routes
- Strong hands under pressure
- Added value as a return specialist
Look for Chism to return punts and kickoffs. I remember that Chism had a nice punt return in the Shrine game, not because of the amount of yards he got, but because he was so fearless catching a punt cleanly at the 10-yard line surrounded by opponents and taking it back another 7 yards. Punt Returners are taught to let it go if inside the 10-yard line. However, Chism given an opportunity to shine in a college All-Star game chose to make the return and keep his team out of the shadow of the end zone.
This is what I wrote about Chism in January after the 2nd day of Practice at the East West Shrine game. “When you write about a guy two days in a row he must be impressing a lot of people. Steeler Depot has three folks watching the practices and all three commented about how he put together two good days of practice. Joe Clarke says, “He has really reliable hands and is so shifty in space”. Melanie Friedlander went on to say “He flashes on every play. A late add to the roster, he has shown that he belongs here. He reminds me of a classic Bill Belichick era Patriots slot receiver. Good burst, quick feet, sharp cuts, and always seems to know where the ball is at all times.” He had a scare at the end of practice with a twisted ankle, but he did not appear to be affected by it. Chism is 5’10”, 195-pounds. His estimated 40-yard dash is just 4.57. In 2024 his stats line was 120-1311-13 and in 2022 it was 83-937-8. Remember that Eastern Washington gave us Kendrick Bourne and the Rams Cooper Kupp. His 3-cone drill time will be a good indicator if he can play in this league. Cooper Kupp’s 40 was 4.62 but the 3-cone was a very fast 6.75.”
CJ Dippre has a Large Salary Guarantee
Miguel Benzan aka PatsCap reported that Dippre has a $264K Guaranteed salary as an UDFA. That is the largest amount that the Patriots have given out this year. They were in competition for Dippre, who had a draftable grade from Dane Brugler in his “The Beast” Draft Guide. Brugler had him as his #12 TE with a 5th – 6th round grade on the TE. This was what he said about Dippre:
- Good-sized athlete with adequate speed
- Fits up his blocks with strong body positioning
- Generates pop into initial contact with firm hands
- Able to cave in down blocks to clear running room behind the tackle
- Feel for finding soft spots improved throughout season
- Small sample, but caught the ball well with defenders crowding air space (see 2024 Vanderbilt tape)
- Run balance to break initial tackle
- Grew up with a powerlifting father and developed a passion for weight training in high school (wants to be a strength and conditioning coach after playing days)
- Repped 225 pounds on bench press 32 times at combine (fifth most by tight end since 2000)
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Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.
The Onwenu news is disconcerting. You would hope him being out-of-shape is per an off-season surgery or something. But no one has reported that. Given he’s making a lot of $$, he would need that acceptable excuse, or as Mark said, he could get cut. If the capology allows it.
Baremore is a good story. It will be interesting to see if this D can stop the run. THey won’t be very big up front. To me that is the question mark on the D….what is there yards/game and average on run-D.