Pats Pulpit
With a dozen training camp practices, including three walkthroughs and one joint session, in the books, the New England Patriots now turn their attention to preseason game No. 1 Friday night.
With the competition ramping up across the roster, let’s revisit six positional battles that were considered the biggest question marks entering training camp.
It took just one week of practice for a leading candidate to clearly establish himself as the starting left guard. That has been rookie Jared Wilson. The third-rounder opened the summer mixing in at center with Cole Strange at left guard, but after a pair of muffed exchanges with Drake Maye, Wilson has been a fixture at the left guard position — impressing in the process.
“Nothing’s set in stone with the roster or the lineup — but certainly want to give Jared the opportunity that he’s deserved, which I think is to be out there with the ones in the last couple days and going forward into next week,” head coach Mike Vrabel said last week. “I think we talked about the players that don’t participate in practice but have the ability to stay engaged with the installation and stay up with the installation, and he did that through the spring.
“He wasn’t able to be out there physically, but was able to learn all the interior line positions and then really got off to a good start here in training camp. So, try to tell the team that, take advantage of your opportunities and you get more opportunity.”
With Wilson appearing to be out of the mix at center, veteran Garrett Bradbury has remained the front runner for the starting center position. But after returning from a lower body injury and continuing to struggle in pass protection, it was noteworthy to see Ben Brown snap to Maye along the top unit at times during the joint practice Wednesday against the Commanders. The door now seems open for Brown to push Bradbury out of the starting lineup, while Strange has also snapped with the second unit at times.
A clear top five has established themselves inside the Patriots wide receiver room that includes Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, and rookie Kyle Williams. One or two spots could be up for grabs behind them, with Javon Baker and Efton Chism III appearing to lead that charge.
While he’s still searching for consistency, Baker’s talent has been on display in flashes with several splash plays this summer while his combination of vertical speed and ability to play above the rim is lacking elsewhere on the depth chart. Chism, meanwhile, has been uncoverable along the first and second levels while his skillset has a history of success under Josh McDaniels. Both players also play multiple special teams units to help their cause, but have not seen consistent reps with Maye to this point.
Behind them are Ja’Lynn Polk and Kendrick Bourne. Last year’s second-rounder...
