The Patriots have already had a few OTA sessions this week and will have another Thursday, which will be open to the media.
This will be the first chance to see the 2021 Patriots in action. Obviously with such a busy offseason, it will be a much different group than a year ago.
While it’s just the spring and players will not be wearing pads, this is the beginning of some positional battles that will continue into training camp.
Here are five positional battles we’ll be paying close attention to.
1. Quarterback
This will be the No. 1 storyline with the team from now until Week 1 of the regular season, or until Bill Belichick names a starter. Based on what Belichick said after the draft, Cam Newton is at the top of the depth chart with Mac Jones, Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer behind him. It appears Newton and Jones will be battling for the starting job, and then Stidham and Hoyer for spots on the roster. One thing to pay attention to his how the reps are split with these players and if there is a rotation with the starting unit or if one player gets the majority of the reps.
2. Wide receiver
There are a number of similar players at this position. Like we’ve said all offseason, it feels like the team has plenty of No. 3 and 4 wide receivers, which means whoever performs the best this spring and summer will likely play the most. Jakobi Meyers, N’Keal Harry, Gunner Olszewski and then newcomers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne will all be competing for the top spots on the depth chart. With tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith likely to be on the field a lot, snaps for wide receivers will be more competitive than usual.
3. Defensive line
This position went from a weakness at the start of the offseason to now one of the deepest on the roster with plenty of competition for playing time. There won’t be much physical competition during OTAs because of no pads, but we could get a sense of where players stand based on who they line up with/against. Lawrence Guy will likely lead this group with a number of players competing behind him, including Christian Barmore, Henry Anderson, Davon Godchaux, Byron Cowart, Montravius Adams and Carl Davis. It feels like there aren’t enough roster spots for all these players, so something will have to give between now and the initial 53-man roster.
4. Offensive line
Similar to defensive line these players won’t be physically competing during OTAs, but there could be a glimpse of where players are slotted in. One of the biggest questions at this position is where Michael Onwenu will play. As a rookie he played right tackle, but he’s played inside his entire career before last year. There’s a thought he could slide back inside and replace Joe Thuney at left guard. What side of the line Trent Brown/Isaiah Wynn play is also a question which should be answered. It would seem like Wynn would stay at left tackle and Brown right tackle. This would have an offensive line of (left-to-right) Wynn-Onwenu-David Andrews-Shaq Mason-Brown. The positional battles at this position will be more for the depth spots between Ted Karras, Justin Herron, Yodny Cajuste and Korey Cunningham.
5. Kicker
The Patriots have three kickers on the roster — Nick Folk, Roberto Aguayo and undrafted rookie Quinn Nordin. This is one position that can actually be evaluated during OTAs, so it will be interesting to see how things play out. Last year it was clear Justin Rohrwasser was struggling, so if one of these kickers isn’t getting it done it will be easy to pick up on. Aguayo is the most intriguing player at this position, as he was added at the very end of last season.