On Tuesday, the Patriots held their second practice of the Organized Team Activity (OTA) period this spring, with media being granted access to this lively shorts-and-helmets session.
They weren’t wearing full pads, and there wasn’t any live hitting, but make no mistake about it - head coach Mike Vrabel had the Patriots operating in an up-tempo environment where good reps were had on both sides of the ball.
Most notable from Tuesday was the play of second-year quarterback Drake Maye, but not for the reasons you’re hoping for if you’re a Pats fan.
Trick-or-treat QB-play was back on full display early, with Maye being picked off on 4 of his first 8 passes during the sixth period of practice - the first 11-on-11 session of the day.
As we saw him do his entire rookie season, Maye mixed the turnovers in with solid quarterback play, as he finished the day going 7 for his next 8 throws.
Sure, it’s only May. And yes, it’s only day two of OTAs as the team installs a new offense. But with Maye’s turnovers from his rookie season consistently excused away by fans and media (me included) as a young player just trying to make a play, this is the type of stuff we will be monitoring as Maye looks to take a step forward in year two while working with a much more stable program around him.
Here are some more observations from day two of OTAs at Gillette Stadium:
- Sticking with the offense for a second: it’s important to make it clear that this was only the second day of New England installing the “Josh McDaniels Offense,” if you will, under old-but-new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
While there are some holdovers from the last time this offense was run in New England like tight end Hunter Henry and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, the bulk of the impact players on this offense are learning things for the first time.
Third-year wide receiver DeMario Douglas is one of those guys learning this thing for the first time, and he’s confident that things will turn around quickly as the unit continues to progress with installation.
“I think it’s going to be lovely,” Douglas said of his new offense. “We just had the first two installs, so once we open up that book, it’s gonna be crazy. So defense has got something on us right now, but once we open that book, it’s gonna be something good.”
When Douglas was reminded by Chris Gasper from The Boston Globe of all the success slot receivers have had previously in the McDaniels offense, he smiled and said “facts.”
“Man, I’m super excited,” said Douglas about hopefully following in the footsteps of Welker, Edelman and others. “I can’t wait.”
- Let’s shift to a far less sexy side of the offense and talk about the offensive line for a second, shall we?
While Vrabel told the media before practice not to make much of the various groupings we were going to see on either side of the football on Tuesday, there was one point early in practice that sure looked like the potential starting O-line group for 2025 walking through some shell drills:
RT Morgan Moses
RG Mike Onwenu
C Garrett Bradbury
LG Cole Strange
LT Will Campbell
None of that should be surprising to anyone who has followed this team, but it’s notable nonetheless given the instability of that unit throughout the 2024 season.
Moses, Onwenu and Campbell feel like locks to be starting at those positions when the Raiders come to town for Week 1 this fall (health permitting, of course). But both the center and left guard spots feel very much so up for grabs.
With the team releasing franchise legend David Andrews in March, we knew the man in the middle of the O-line was going to have a new look come opening day. Bradbury is seen as the front runner at the moment, entering his first season in New England after working as the starting center in Minnesota the first six years of his career. Also in the mix are third-round pick Jared Wilson and last year’s scrapheap pick-up Ben Brown - who flashed at times in 2024 but ultimately had a disappointing season after signing midseason to replace an injured Andrews.
Strange also saw some time at center in 2024, and there was a thought this offseason that he may get another opportunity to play there in 2025. But for now, the 2022 first-round pick is getting reps at his natural position of left guard as he looks to have his first fully healthy season since his rookie year. In addition to Strange, players like Sidy Sow and Layden Robinson should also be seen as guys in the mix for this spot.
And if Tuesday is any indication of what roles will look like this fall, free agent pick-up Wes Schweitzer was seen working at all three positions across the offensive line. This positional versatility could help land the journeyman a spot on the roster later this summer.
- My final note of the day will again hit on offense, as second-year wideout Ja’Lynn Polk appeared to be limited for most of practice.
I don’t know if this was Polk getting extra work due to his Week 17 shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery this offseason, or if this was just a young player being given extra attention from coaches as both he and the team hope for a massive step forward in year two for the Washington-product.
Mike Vrabel echoed a sentiment he has repeated at various points throughout the offseason, saying that all returning receivers are being given a clean slate heading into 2025.
“I would say that the players that aren't available need to make sure that they're doing everything they can to stay up mentally and continue to work hard to get back,” said Vrabel when asked about having a crowded receivers room. “The young players that are coming onto this roster have to earn a role. The ones that are returning have a clean slate to go and compete, whether that's a carryover position from last year or a new position.
“We're very early on in the process, but we need that group to compete and have a willingness to go out there and help the quarterback through this spring process.”
The media will not have access again to OTAs until May 28. We’ll see how similar-or-different things look eight days from now.
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