OTAs are in New England

The last time there was anything news related to talk about was May 17th or 18th. It's now May 25th and there's something new to talk about as OTAs are now taking place. Since the 18th, there has still been talk in the media about the coaching staff and the draft. Those are just stories the media is running with to fill content need. There really isn't anything new going to come out until August concerning the coaches and the draft is done so unless Robert Kraft says something. Anymore criticism over the draft is to trash the Patriots.

Mac Jones has learned that he cannot be walking around like Jay Cutler at the end of his career and that he needed to get into NFL game shape. This is something most players know and a former Patriots quarterback turned into a brand. 

Mac Jones said, “I just cleaned up my diet. I’ve learned more this offseason than I probably ever have about nutrition, sleep, wellness, all that stuff. At the same time, I need to be able to maintain my weight and be able to take hits,” he continued. “There’s a fine balance for every player. I’ve definitely trimmed down on the body fat, and I’ll get a chance to bulk up before the season starts and be able to absorb hits.”

Attendance: This is OTAs and people need to remember that. There was talk about N'keal Harry not showing up. How the must be the writing is on the wall. However, Matthew Judon, Isaiah Wynn, and Nick Folk weren't present. Does that mean the writing is on the wall for them also? There were like 12 Patriots not in attendance on day one of OTAs 

The outside corner position has been a huge topic of conversation since before the 2021 season ended. The Patriots added some pieces to the secondary to address the need. However, the media hasn't been so kind, questioning the team's moves. The good news is one of the two rookies is showing signs of life. Referring of course to Jack Jones who slipped down draft boards due to off field issues at college.

Paul Perillo wrote, "Another fluid athlete who stood out was Jack Jones. The rookie cornerback moves effortlessly and also showed the ability to high-point the ball effectively during drills. Toward the end of practice he worked with J.J. Taylor and Malcolm Perry returning punts and Belichick spent a couple of extended periods discussing his techniques during the drill."

Receivers With the trading for DeVante Parker and the drafting of Tyquan Thornton people knew there would be changes with the Patriots order at receiver. It looks like that maybe taking place. Could we see Agholor moved to the Z role and Thorton out to the slot? Evan Lazar of CLNS spoke about what he saw coming from the receivers.

Lazar wrote, "Unfortunately, Patriots rookie Tyquan Thornton was limited in today’s session, so we didn’t get to see the rookie in live drills. However, DeVante Parker is acclimating himself quickly into the offense and was heavily involved at receiver. Parker had the play of the day during team drills when he snuck behind New England’s secondary for a long touchdown pass from Brian Hoyer on a deep post pattern. Parker had fresh legs and some legit burst coming off the line in his reps. Based on the way things are going, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Parker is New England’s starting “X” receiver, not Nelson Agholor or Thornton."

Alex Barth was keeping an eye on the linebackers but without pads, how much can really be taken away from their practice. The linebacking core is apparently showing life with one player getting Barth's attention. And that's a player returning from injury.

Barth wrote, "Monday was the first chance we’ve had to see McMillan since that injury, and he appears to be picking up where he left off. He was heavily involved in the practice, and appeared to be moving well. Speaking with the media after practice, he told reporters he’s 'pretty much full go.' "

Patriots 2022 first round pick Cole Strange is already showing why he was drafted in the first round with several media members hyping him up. Andrew Callahan had Strange as the player of the day.

Callahan wrote, "Strange started at left guard and hardly moved from that spot during team drills. His elite athleticism was evident on several outside runs. Strange won’t be able to fully showcase his talent until the pads come on, but the Patriots clearly think highly of what the rookie has shown them to date."

The Patriots are using Malcolm Perry everywhere. Fans thought D'eriq King would be doing what we're hearing from Perry. The Patriots signed Perry to the practice squad last season and to a future's contract this off season. NESN's Zack Cox was one of many to take notice of how evolved Perry was.

Cox wrote, "Jack Jones, Perry and running back J.J. Taylor took punt-return reps. Bill Belichick stopped by during that period to give Jones, a rookie fourth-rounder, some 1-on-1 instruction...." "Perry, a former quarterback at Navy, threw passes to a small group of receivers and tight ends after practice. The Patriots also utilized his versatility on their scout-team offense during one 11-on-11 period."

Quarterback There was a lot of negativity when the Patriots took Bailey Zappe in the fourth. People went as far as to say he would never start in the league and would be a career clip board holder. Others thought he was one of the best quarterbacks in the draft class. Khari Thompson took note of Zappe's practice and had praise for the rookie.

Thompson wrote, "While it might not say much with no pads on (or given who the Patriots’ other quarterbacks are), Zappe appears to have the liveliest arm in the room. He showed it off on one fastball down the middle of the field to tight end Matt Sokol, in particular.

He also threw the ball with the kind of anticipation, confidence, and accuracy not always typical of a rookie, slipping in some tricky throws to covered receivers in drills."

More from Zack Cox who was one of a few to notice how some players were playing linebacker. 

Cox wrote, "Linebacker Josh Uche, whom position coach Steve Belichick envisions “being a big part of this defense,” saw reps at edge and off-the-ball alignments. He’s a prime candidate to take on a larger workload following Kyle Van Noy’s offseason departure.

Uche and Deatrich Wise were New England’s first-choice edge rushers with Pro Bowler Judon absent, with Wise occasionally standing up and dropping into coverage. That’s a new wrinkle for Wise, who always has played as a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end."

James White looks like he might be a go come September as he's practicing and that could be huge for the Patriots offense. Jeff Howe had the following to say about White.

Howe wrote, "With White, who is bouncing back from season-ending hip surgery having previously noted that he still has a ways to go in his recovery, it's not surprising that he remains limited at this stage. That said, his presence for the team's OTAs, in any capacity, is a positive sign. In the absence of any setbacks this summer, While will look to reclaim his change-of-pace role in New England's backfield ahead of Week 1."

One last thing we saw how the Patriots were going to be using some of the coaches. As expected Bill worked with the offense, Judge worked with the quarterbacks, Patricia worked with the offensive line and surprisingly Fears watched on from the bleachers. The Patriots the media confuse people on occasion and this year seems no different.

Ray Rauth recently gave his opinion on the Patriots coaching staff. Rauth wrote, "I’m not surprised New England’s players aren’t happy. Greg Bedard was the first to report this and usually I don’t agree with anything Bedard has to say about the Patriots, but this time we’re on the same page. Both Judge and Patricia were failed head coaches, and though both had success as coordinators with New England (Patricia: Defensive Coordinator, and Judge: Special Teams Coordinator), I don’t have a lot of faith in either guy leading the Patriots offense..."

Overall thoughts: It's been seven or eight days with nothing to write. This is just OTAs so it might not mean anything but then again last year's OTAs didn't mean anything supposedly but they showed Mac being better than expexted. So take everything coming from this year's OTAs with a grain of salt. These practices might not mean anything or they could mean everything.