Drake Maye turned in a strong showing as the Patriots narrowed their focus to the red zone.
Drake Maye AP Photo/Charles Krupa
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FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots kicked off their three-day mandatory mini-camp at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday with an emphasis on the red zone.
The offense looked smooth and efficient with Drake Maye under center. The second-year signal caller peppered the defense with short, accurate passes.
There were a couple of times when he had to tuck the ball and scramble because of the pressure, but for the most part he was able to hit a wide range of targets in the quick game and get the ball to speedy playmakers like A.J. Brown and DeMario Douglas.
With the team practicing in shorts and shells and working within short distances, the offense took advantage of the quick game and scored in a variety of ways. There were only a handful of hand offs. Tuesday was about testing the Patriots in an area that gave them some trouble last year.
“We were fifth in red zone drives offensively,” coach Mike Vrabel said before practice. “But, unfortunately, we were middle of the pack and too many negative plays, too many turnovers. Almost half of our turnovers were in the red zone. So, that hurts you there.”
It was a big day for Maye and the receiving corps. Here are five takeaways from the action.
Boutte, Gonzalez return
The biggest storylines of the day were the respective returns of Christian Gonzalez and Kayshon Boutte, both of whom were absent during the team’s voluntary OTA sessions.
Boutte, who said missing OTAs was a personal decision and that he wants to stay with the Patriots, participated in both individual and team drills on Tuesday. He hauled in one of the deeper throws of the day from Tommy DeVito in the end zone, but was ruled out of bounds.
Gonzalez also said he wants to stay with the Patriots, but mentioned that he wants a contract extension. He did not participate in the 11-on-11 team drills, but was active during individual drills.
Dominant day for Drake Maye
Maye completed all but three of his passes. He looked sharp, poised, and under control.
He had a throw intended for Jack Westover in the end zone that sailed too high but, other than that, there weren’t too many noticeable mistakes.
The Patriots were working on a ton of quick hitters, so the high completion rate wasn’t exactly a surprise. There were a lot of short routes underneath and in the flat, testing the defense’s ability to react quickly.
Maye made his reads quickly and decisively and spread the ball around to a bunch of receivers. There wasn’t much the defense could do to stop him.
Increased workload for A.J. Brown
Brown took just a handful of snaps last week as he eased into practice last Tuesday, the day after he was traded.
This week, Brown was more active during the scrimmage portion of practice. He won a battle against Kindle Vildor for a contested catch, jumping and snagging the ball at its high point. He finished with three catches.
Brown is still getting into the swing of things, but he appears to be taking on a bigger workload during minicamp as he continues to acclimate to the team.
Lomu gets reps with first team
Morgan Moses was out, which gave rookie first-rounder Caleb Lomu an opportunity to work with the first team in the right tackle spot.
Lomu played left tackle at Utah. Eliot Wolf said Lomu has the tools to play anywhere on the line.
The Patriots have stuck with Will Campbell consistently at left tackle so far. On Tuesday, he and Lomu were both out there with the starters.
Last week, Campbell told reporters that he reached out to Lomu after the draft because he appreciated it when Moses welcomed him to New England last year.
“It obviously feels good whenever guys on the team reach out, so I wanted to reciprocate that,” Campbell said. “Plan on me and him being here for a while together so starting a relationship as soon as possible was something that I wanted to do and I’m super excited for the future with him.”
Life on the edge
Vrabel said rookie second-rounder Gabe Jacas is not yet under contract with the team. Jacas missed Tuesday’s mandatory mini-camp session.
Vrabel said the young edge rusher had a medical procedure done, but declined to say what it was.
Fellow edge rusher Harold Landry was not spotted at Tuesday’s practice, further limiting the Patriots’ depth at the position.
Khari A. ThompsonSports Reporter
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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