Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots welcomed the Washington Commanders to Gillette Stadium on Wednesday for what turned into an eventful two hours of work. The teams’ joint practice featured full pads and the intensity to match the outfit: the session was a physical and competitive one.
You can recap all the action here. And as always, here is a rundown of who caught our eyes for better or worse.
QB Drake Maye: The Patriots’ starting quarterback, and indeed the entire team, can feel good about his overall body of work on Wednesday. Maye was in full command of his offense throughout the day, and looked comfortable with his reads and composed under pressure. He kept his eyes downfield, stepped up in the pocket, delivered on- and off-platform throws, and got a majority of his weapons — including DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Hunter Henry — involved.
His ball placement may not have always been fully on point, and he also ended practice on a sour note when one of his passes was tipped and intercepted, but Maye generally performed well against an unfamiliar opponent. Wednesday felt like a step in the right direction in his development under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
WR DeMario Douglas: With Stefon Diggs arriving late for reasons unknown at the time, Drake Maye opted to make Douglas his go-to guy — a role the third-year wideout is quite familiar with. Against the Commanders, he made the most of his opportunities and was a regular recipient of the football. In fact, Douglas was nearly uncoverable for much of the session.
WR Mack Hollins: For only the second time this summer, fellow North Carolina products Drake Maye and Mack Hollins teamed up on Wednesday. The connection proved to be a fruitful one. While the free agency pickup did drop a pair of passes on the day, he also showed the ability to bounce back quickly and decisively. In total. Hollins ended up catching a team-leading five passes in team drills.
C Garrett Bradbury: The Patriots’ starting center position is not set in stone, and Wednesday served as a reminder of that. Bradbury, the free agency signing who previously missed time due to an undisclosed ailment, had a rough go versus Washington. Besides losing both of his 1-on-1s, the former Viking was also pulled from the starting lineup in favor of Ben Brown at one point before returning later in practice.
DT Christian Barmore and DT Khyiris Tonga: Even though New England gave Milton Williams $104 million this offseason, the show along the defensive line was stolen by two other players on Wednesday. Christian Barmore and Khyiris Tonga were disruptive throughout the day, with the former decisively winning his 1-on-1s and the latter disrupting the pocket on multiple occasions in full team work. Together with Williams, who also had a good practice, the two will be at the heart of New England’s defensive efforts. Wednesday was glimpse of that.
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