FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- School is out for the summer. The New England Patriots wrapped up mandatory minicamp on Wednesday and it was a rather lukewarm way to head into the break for the offense in particular.
This final session was a bit more lax than the opening minicamp practice on Monday, but things did ramp up during competitive drills, which were largely dominated by the defense. Out of the shoot, New England elected to work in a hurry-up two-minute situation that showed there are still some kinks to be worked out within the offense.
Jacoby Brissett, who remains the presumptive Week 1 starter given by his share of reps, failed to complete his first two passes of the initial 11-on-11 period. He'd then rally to make back-to-back completions, but couldn't stop the clock or get the play off before time ran out. Rookie Drake Maye came in after Brissett's turn and the offense didn't look much better with the third overall pick tossing an interception corner Azizi Hearn.
The group then transitioned to 7-on-7s, which wasn't much better. After the Maye pick, Brissett came in and nearly threw an interception of his own, but Isaiah Bolden dropped it. The veteran completed one of his four passes during the session. Maye essentially mimicked that sequence by Brissett, completing just one of his four throws with a near interception as well.
Midway through practice it looked as if the offense would enter the summer break with a sour taste in their mouths, but Maye did end up rallying during the final stretch of the day. In another 11-on-11s period with the ball sitting at roughly the 5-yard line, Maye and second-year receiver Kayshon Boutte put on a show. The duo connected for three touchdowns on four of Maye's pass attempts. The final two were fades on each side of the end zone with Maye displaying ideal ball placement and Boutte flashing impeccable timing and concentration.
"That's one thing that I've been trying to stress to him is, 'All right, just keep chipping at the rock, get 1 percent better every day,'" head coach Jerod Mayo said before practice of Maye's development throughout camp. "It's not always going to be great."
Mayo later added: "I would say the surprising thing is just the way he's able to pull the nose up, right? What I mean by saying that is he makes a bad throw, it's out of his head. Move on to the next play."
Those comments by Mayo foreshadowed the events ahead at practice.
On top of the flurry of back-to-back-to-back touchdowns between Boutte and Maye, the highlight of the session for the offense came on its final play. With one second left on the clock in a do-or-die hurry-up series, Maye lofted a pass to the back corner of the right end zone to fellow rookie Ja'Lynn Polk, who was able to beat his defender for the diving touchdown.
Officials, who were again present for the practice, ruled it a catch, albeit with plenty of protest from essentially the entire defense, who were forced to do pushups.
Here are some other nuggets from New England's final minicamp practice:
- How the QBs fared: As we noted above, it was a mixed bag for the quarterbacks during competitive drills (11-on-11s and 7-on-7s). By my count, I had Brissett completing nine of his 20 passes with one near interception. Maye was 8 for 12 passing with one interception (and another almost picked), while Bailey Zappe completed two of his four throws in competitive drills.
- Attendance: Tyquan Thornton was a notable new absence from Wednesday's practice after we had seen him on Monday. Meanwhile, Kendrick Bourne, Cole Strange, Jahlani Tavai, Jake Andrews, Sione Takitaki and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. were the other Patriots not practicing.
- Davon Godchaux hold in? It would seem like Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux may be holding in. While present, he wasn't participating in the competitive sessions. When asked about his situation before practice, Mayo said, "There are guys that, obviously, they want to redo contracts and stuff like that. And not just DG, it's a bunch of guys that want to do those things, and we're working through it. Eliot [Wolf] and his staff, they do a great job as far as handling that. I don't get into the player contracts. What I will say is one thing I've learned is sometimes the value that the team has on a person is a little bit different than the value that the market has on a person. So, those are just things I'm learning, guys. Like I told you guys before, I'm green, but I'm learning. I'm evolving, and these are the conversations that have to be had."
- Offensive line: The offensive line will be more of a story once things transition into full contact during training camp, but I did find it notable on Monday that Mike Onwenu was slotting in at right guard at times. That was the case during competitive periods again on Wednesday. When asked about it on Wednesday, Mayo emphasized the team is trying "to get the best vibe out there." Rookie Caedan Wallace also saw reps at right and left tackle.
- TEs are the new QBs: It was a lighter practice than Monday's session for the Patriots and a bit more lighthearted before things ramped up during 11-on-11s and 7-on-7s. One of those lighter moments came during warmups as the majority of offensive players (including quarterbacks and offensive linemen) ran receiver routes. For the majority of that period, I saw Hunter Henry and fellow tight end Jaheim Bell tossing the ball to their teammates.
- Return of the McCourty Twins: On Monday, the Patriots saw the likes of Julian Edelman and Vince Wilfork back on their old stomping grounds and Wednesday saw the return of Devin and Jason McCourty, who were on hand watching practice. The two are in town for Wednesday's celebration at Gillette Stadium of Tom Brady being inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.
