MORSE: 2025 Patriots Training Camp Preview
Key Position Battles and Breakout Candidates to watch at 2025 Patriots Training Camp.
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Welcome to the start of Training Camp today with three days of conditioning practices, which means no pads. These are glorified OTA practices that, according to the Players Association CBA, are intended to ensure the players are fit for the start of contact football. In the past, under Bill Belichick, the players had to pass a conditioning run given the day before practice started, in order to get on the field. If they didn’t pass, they were placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and were not allowed to Practice until they passed. If they couldn’t reach the standard, they were cut. I don’t know if Mike Vrabel does a similar test or not, but given his demanding tone, I would expect it.
Who are the players to watch in Training Camp and the position battles to make the 53-man roster?
WR Mack Hollins, TE Austin Hooper, OT Vederian Lowe and LB Jahlani Tavai are opening camp on active/PUP list. Tavai, we knew, had a calf issue. Some are already projecting him to start the season on the PUP. Mack Hollins didn’t participate in any of the OTAs or Mini Camp. He was present in street clothes on the sideline and was noticeable working with the younger players. I have not read anything about what type of injury is keeping Hollins off the field.
Austin Hooper and Vederian Lowe missed time this spring and are also listed with undisclosed injuries. All four players could come off the list as soon as they get medically cleared.
CB Carlton Davis III, S Josh Minkins, and WR Jeremiah Webb are on active/non-football list. According to Mike Reiss, “This means they are not yet cleared to practice. Can change at any time”. The fact that Carlton Davis is on the Non-Football Injury list is a concern. It’s well-documented that Davis has never played a full season in his seven years in the NFL.
The fact that Stephon Diggs is not on either list is great news. This means he should be available for full participation in practice starting on Wednesday. The Athletics’ Chad Graff wrote about Diggs this week. “It always seemed likeliest that Diggs would open the season on the physically unable to perform list (meaning he’d be out at least the first four games), but perhaps the optimism from his spring performances can translate to an increased role in camp and maybe even open the door for Diggs to open the season on the Week 1 roster.” It appears that Graff was, fortunately, wrong about Diggs.
Kyle Dugger had a disastrous season last year. He valiantly tried to play through a misdiagnosed High Ankle Sprain and essentially played on one leg. His return should be monitored, and it’s still possible he could be put on the PUP list. He had off-season tightrope surgery to tighten up the ligaments in the ankle.
Jared Wilson missed all the OTA workouts and Mini Camp. There is no report of an injury he is dealing with, so it is encouraging that he was not listed on either list. Wilson was treated for Achilles Tendonitis prior to the start of the season at Georgia. He also sustained a lower leg injury late in the game against Alabama and missed the next two games. I am not concerned by that injury because he ran an incredible 4.84 40-yard dash at the Combine.
Marcus Epps, signed as a Free Agent in the off-season, is recovering from a knee injury in Week 3 last season. The ACL surgery cost him the remainder of the season with the Raiders. He was listed on either list, which is great news.
Ja’Lynn Polk had off-season shoulder surgery. He was limited in the OTAs and Mini Camp. Polk would do some of the ER drills but never participated in the 11 on 11 part of practice. His shoulder didn’t appear to be his problem. The mental part of the game was his problem. He had too many missed assignments and jumped offside for dead-ball penalties. The Pro game appeared to be too fast for him to process.
Caeden Wallace had a disastrous rookie season, starting at LT in week 3, getting injured the next week, and being put on IR until late December. His injury was a High Ankle Sprain and Broken Fibula, which required surgery. When activated, he started at RT for the last game versus Bills but was atrocious with a 32.3 PFF grade. He battled injuries all through Training Camp last year.
The biggest Camp Battle is for the starting Left Guard position. The candidates are former 1st round pick Cole Strange, last season’s 4th Round (103rd) draft choice Layden Robinson, Tyrese Robinson, a Practice Squad player who was signed to the Patriots’ 53-man roster from Minnesota’s Practice Squad. Sidy Sow may also get a shot at the LG position. Jared Wilson played G at Georgia before he switched to Center for his final season.
Coach Vrabel has also stated that Wilson would be played at Center and wouldn’t entertain a move to Guard in his 1st year. An outside possibility of UDFA Jack Conley pushing for time at Left Guard. My biggest concern here is whoever is selected to start; they need to hold their own because they are playing next to a rookie Left Tackle (Campbell). I am hoping that the veteran Strange can handle the position and be able to help out the rookie. It will be interesting to see if UDFA Jack Conley gets any play at Guard.
The Wide Receiver Room presents an interesting battle for the last couple of spots. The question is whether they would keep 6 or 7 WRs on the 53-man roster. I am going to assume that Diggs is available week 1 and is on the 53. Other locks are rookie Kyle Williams and Free Agent signee Mack Wilson. That’s 3, and there are two to four openings left. Veterans Kayshon Boutte, Pop Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne are in the fight for the last few receiver slots. Last season, 2nd and 4th-round selections Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker are in the fight, as is the star of the OTAs and Mini Camp UDFA Efton Chism.
Kayshon Boutte was mentioned in trade rumors all spring and leading up to the Draft. Is he a trade candidate? This telling stat is that Boutte was targeted 14 of 32 downfield passes. Of those 14 downfield passes, Boutte only caught 3 of them. Not all his fault, but not a good record on contested catches.
The backup Linebacker competition should be interesting. Monty Rice played well in the OTAs and Mini Camp. Jahlani Tavai is still hanging on, and starts the season on PUP. His style of play doesn’t fit with the Defensive scheme that Tyrell Wiliams and Mike Vrabel want to play. Anfernee Jennings is good at holding the edge but offers nothing in the pass rush. Jennings was ranked 70th amongst Edge Rushers. His run stop grade was 73, but he had an 85 in 2023. Don’t forget that Rice was a 3rd-round selection by Vrabel in 2021.
I mentioned Marcus Epps coming back from injury. The last safety position should be a battle between Epps and Jaylinn Hawkins. From the reports from OTAs and Mini Camp it appears that rookie Craig Woodson should be the starting Free Safety. I want to see a pure Free Safety / Centerfielder out there. I believe that is one of the key positions of need by this defense. I don’t want to see Jabrill Peppers or Kyle Dugger back deep. Woodson and Hawkins both played for Cal, a college that has produced quite a few Safeties in the NFL.
The final Cornerback spot is up for grabs between Marcus Dial and Isaiah Bolden. Bolden has terrific size for a cornerback. Dial excels on Special Teams. Bolden missed his entire rookie season because of injury, so last year was the rookie year for both players. Carlton Davis’ injury / NFI designation could solve this competition. If / when Davis is out, I expect that Alex Austin would step in.
The third Tight End is going to be an interesting battle. If the Josh McDaniels offense features a fullback, UDFA Brock Lampe will make the team and serve as the 3rd TE. 2nd year players Jack Westover and Jaheim Bell have the inside track if they are going with three TEs. Westover is more of a blocker and Bell had a lot of drops in the OTAs and Mini Camp. UDFA CJ Dippre had a draft grade that said he should have been drafted, and the Patriots were lucky to get him as an UDFA. He is known as a very strong TE that should be good a good blocker, but he didn’t show much in OTAs.
A possibility is that Westover, Bell, and Dippre get waived and resigned to the Practice Squad, and if the team needs a true 3rd TE, they could just elevate any one of them up to 3 times during the season. Curiously, Mike Reiss’ Roster Projection today lists only 2 TEs and no Fullback. The extra position was given to the Defensive Line.
Overall, the performance of the Offensive Line is a key for the development of Drake Maye and the efficiency of the Josh McDaniel Offense. Everyone knows that McDaniels likes to run the ball. It’s imperative they decide quickly who is going to be the starting 5 and let them gel as a cohesive unit. Pass Blocking is also another key. I hate to disappoint everyone, but I expect Will Campbell to be just an average Left Tackle this season. He should be slightly better than Vederian Lowe was last season. This is not a knock on Campbell, but just the reality of how rookie Left Tackles perform in their 1st year.
Garrett Bradbury had the worst Pass Blocking rating from PFF for a Starting Center not named Ben Brown. Bradbury’s Overall ranking was 62.8, which was a true ranking of 31 (I dismissed players that started less than 6 games) and a Pass Blocking rank of 56.5, which would have been 43rd. Interesting to note, in the 2 games Cole Strange played at Center, his Pass Blocking rate of 79 would have been 6th.
I find it interesting that Steve Balestrieri and I think so much alike. Steve is a Senior Writer here at Patsfans.com. This article was written last week ahead of Steve’s recent Sunday News and Notes column. We touched upon several of the same points.
Most every fan wants to see Will Campbell, the savior, at Left Tackle or the progress that Drake Maye will make. However, he is not the player I will be concentrating on. My #1 interest is D-Lineman Keon White. The 3rd year player enters his contract year season as an enigma. He seems like a player without a position and is not a good run defender, as evident by his PFF 55.3 Run Stop grade. That was 147th amongst Edge players. He doesn’t hold the edge and is not effective dropping into pass coverage either.
He had 5 sacks last year, all in the 1st two games. Of his 5 sacks, they all came from the DT position and not the Edge. Often, he was seen flying upfield, blowing past the QB, abandoning his rush lane, and allowing the QB to escape and keep the play alive. This is an important year for White. White has stated that he finally feels comfortable and has a position coach he trusts. I think that Terrell Williams will take advantage of White’s ability to get upfield. White does get high grades for his versatility as he was ranked the #4 most versatile Defensive Lineman in the league.
This, according to SB Nation’s Brian Hines, “After sharing his frustration with the coaching staff down the stretch last season, White looked at home this spring along the edge in a more aggressive defensive front. He was disruptive in the non-padded sessions and has enjoyed working with the new outside linebacker coach Mike Smith, who has an extensive history of working with bigger rushers like White. A Year 3 breakout for the 26-year-old would be a game changer for New England’s pass rush and defense.”
X-Factor- K’Lavon Chaisson Brian Hines writes, “Chaisson was one of New England’s more under-the-radar signings in free agency as his deal came four days into free agency. But the former first-rounder was a consistent part of the first-team defense this spring in a rotation along the edge with White and Landry. If he can build off his late-season success with Vegas from last season, Chaisson will bring needed juice to New England’s pass rush and be one of the top bargains from free agency”. Chaisson had 4 of his 5 sacks for the year in his last 6 games. I could see Chaisson as a situational pass rusher replacing Harold Landry on 3rd and long situations. Landry had a very good Run grade but was lacking as a Pass Rusher. Although he finished with 9 sacks. Most of those were cleanup sacks where the interior D-lineman forced the QB into the lap of Landry.
There is tremendous competition in the Receiver room. I want to see if Efton Chism can hold up once the pads come on. He is not fast (4.71 40-yard dash), but he may be the shiftiest Wide Receiver since Julian Edelman. I sang the praises of Chism leading up to the East-West Shrine game. Melanie Freelander of Steelers Depot had this to say about Chism leading up to the game. “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 120 catches for 1300 yards last season, and the only reason he wasn’t drafted is that he ran a 4.71 40 at his Pro day. His estimated 40-time was supposed to be 4.56. Chism broke all the records of Cooper Kupp at Eastern Washington. Kupp ran just a 4.62 40-yard dash. Chism ran a 4.77 3-cone drill and Kupp ran a 4.75.
Craig Woodson was a surprise selection with their 1st selection #4 (#104) in Round 4 on Day 3 of the draft. The Patriots had all night after Day 2 of the draft to make their next selection, and they chose a player that ESPN had ranked #176. Everyone was scratching their head over this pick. I didn’t have Woodson on my radar as a player I thought the Patriots may be interested in, even though I felt that Free Safety was a position of need. All reports about Woodson have been favorable from reporters covering the OTAs and Mini Camp. I want to see a pure center fielder type free safety and everything I have seen says that Woodson has good instincts and is always in position. I can’t wait to see him play.
The Patriots had no choice but to fully guarantee Henderson’s contract when all the other 2nd-round picks ahead of him, including Jonah Savaiinaea, had their contracts guaranteed. Luther Burden, the pick after Henderson, also received a fully guaranteed contract. I’m glad they got this done, and I am excited to see Henderson in pads on Monday. Henderson’s advanced pass-blocking skills should get him more playing time than a typical rookie running back in a Josh McDaniels offense.
David Olajiga is a Defensive Tackle who was in camp for the Los Angeles last year and was a member of their Practice Squad all year as an International Pathway Program player. Olajiga was born in London. The 6’3” 319-pound DT played for Butler Community College (JUCO) and Central Missouri. He posted a 5.12 40-yard dash and put up 30 reps at 225# Bench Press. This player appears to have some potential. I am intrigued by his strength and whether or not it can translate to on-field production.
With Austin Hooper showing up on the PUP list and both Hunter Henry and Hooper turning 32 this season, would it be worth a flyer to get a look at Fant? In the last three years in Seattle, Fant has 130 catches, 1400 yards, and 5 TDs. He turns 28 in November. At 6’4” 249-pounds, he ran 4.50 40-yard dash. Fant is entering his 7th season in the league and was a 2nd-round selection (#20) in the 2019 Draft by Denver.
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