Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots are scattered all over the country at the moment, but the summer break is slowly but surely nearing its end: in 10 days, the first group of players will report to training camp.
For the time being, however, things are still relatively quiet. As a consequence, our weekly wrap-up of stories not covered elsewhere on Pats Pulpit is relatively short — i.e. roughly 2,000 words — once again. That will of course change in due time, but for now, here is another somewhat truncated version of our Sunday Patriots Notes.
Coming off a Super Bowl appearance and being led by an MVP-level quarterback entering just his third year in the league, the Patriots are on a definitive upward trajectory. That is true for the team as a whole, but also for its individual players — some of whom looking like potential breakout candidates.
One of the is new starting center Jared Wilson, who actually was named as such by a recent analysis by ESPN:
Wilson already did one of the harder things a rookie can do: win a starting job, out of position, despite not being a first-round pick. The third-rounder was a college center who kicked over to left guard and kept his head above water. But his best NFL position was always center, and the job is now his after the Garrett Bradbury trade this offseason.
Wilson has the nice combination of quickness, balance and play speed that modern centers need to become featured parts of the running game. Facing fewer one-on-one situations against power rushers than last season will benefit him greatly. So long as he can handle the pre-snap side of the job, he should be an above-average starting center by this time next year.
Coming off a challenging rookie season spent, as mentioned, out of position, Wilson is a definitive player to watch this year. He did spend all of the offseason as the starting center in front of Drake Maye, a reflection of the Patriots’ commitment to him.
Wilson, however, is not the only player worthy of a “breakout” level. Among his fellow sophomores are offensive tackle Will Campbell, whose talent was on display repeatedly in 2025 but whose rookie campaign was ultimately disrupted by a knee injury, as well as big-play running back TreVeyon Henderson.
The name that stands out the most, however, might be Craig Woodson. After already leading the team in defensive snaps last year, the fourth-round draft pick is slated to make a Year 2 jump in a secondary consisting of fellow starters Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones and veteran free agency pickup Kevin Byard. Woodson taking a step up from being a promising but somewhat inconsistent player might do wonders for him and the entire new England pass defense.
Among the more experienced players who could break out are wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who always was a good player in Green Bay but never managed to put...
