Coming off a walkthrough on Wednesday, the New England Patriots upped the intensity again on Thursday. They tossed their bucket hats and T-shirts aside for some good old helmets and full pads.
To recap the 11th session of this year’s training camp, please head over to our daily practice recap. In addition, here are the players who caught our eye.
CB Christian Gonzalez: The battles between Gonzalez and wide receiver A.J. Brown have been one of the main events of this year’s training camp, and on Thursday the cornerback got the better of them. Brown did beat him for one reception during a late two-minute drill — on a perfectly-thrown ball and impressive catch despite tight coverage — but the other matchups went in Gonzalez’s favor: he covered the offseason trade pickup on a downfield target during 11-on-11s that fell incomplete, and later also won both of the 2-on-2 goal line reps.
All of the reps were highly contested, including a pass breakup in the end zone that led to a heated verbal exchange. The two teammates almost needed to be separated after the incident.
“He’s going to face corners like that who are going to yap at him and going to try to get in his head,” Gonzalez said after practice. “And I’m going to face receivers like that who are strong and come right back at me. So it’s great work for the both of us.”
Other performances of note
OT Marcus Bryant: With Will Campbell again wearing a brace on his left arm and not participating in any competitive periods, the Patriots needed a new starting left tackle. They found one in fellow sophomore Marcus Bryant, who currently seems well-positioned in the race for a roster spot. The fact that he and not first-round rookie Caleb Lomu replaced Campbell speaks for itself: Bryant is the current LT2, and he looked the part as well.
OT Caleb Lomu: Speaking of Lomu, he only entered the mix at left tackle with the third-stringers. He also served as the second-string right tackle behind Morgan Moses, his usual position this summer. The fact that he seems to be behind Bryant in the left tackle pecking order despite it being his college position at Utah is somewhat surprising. As for his performance, it had its ups and downs — including a bad loss to Gabe Jacas in a team period.
ED Gabe Jacas: Speaking of Jacas, the rookie did not just get the better of his fellow rookie Lomu at one point, he also took another step forward. Less than a week after his practice debut in the NFL, the second-round pick saw his first reps with the starting defense. He did not necessarily stand out, but did show his size, power and even speed throughout the day (especially when lined up versus the second-stringers). Most importantly, though, the arrow keeps pointing up.
CB Marcus Jones: Christian Gonzalez was not the only cornerback catching the eye on Thursday. Jones undercut a pass intended for Kayshon Boutte during the two-minute portion late in the session, registering the first of the defense’s three straight interceptions. Before that play, he also recorded a pressure on a corner blitz. It was a good day to be named Marcus.
Other noteworthy performances include Drake Maye, who threw two interceptions during a two-minute period late in the session. On the plus side, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and rookie edge Quintayvious Hutchins had their moments in 1-on-1s, while Kevin Byard and John Saunders Jr. both notched an INTs. Mike Brown, meanwhile, took some starter reps at safety on Thursday after previously repping with the backups.
The Patriots will hold their 12th practice of training camp on Friday. The session is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. ET, with fans allowed to be in attendance again.
