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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots are about to open a mini camp next week, but scheduled one last OTA session for the media on Friday. As with Tuesday’s session, the pace varied throughout practice, but there were two competitive 11-on-11 sessions that could be described as a tie between offense and defense.
Below we’ll cover the biggest takeaways from Friday’s OTA session, including Marte Mapu opening a few eyes in the third round.
Marte Mapu comes out
Third round Marte Mapu really showed his potential on Friday. Although the Sacramento State product is billed as a safety/linebacker hybrid, he primarily played in the back end of the secondary in safety during this session. Mapu was a constant presence around the football during 11-on-11s, including an interception on Bailey Zappe. Mapu also dropped what would have been another interception on Zappe during that second period of 11-on-11s on a pass intended for wideout Ed Lee.
“He’s doing really well,” Adrian Phillips said of Mapu, who officially signed his rookie deal on Friday. “He’s just a guy who wants to learn. When you talk about rookies and guys coming in, that’s the main thing you want to see. He’s going to ask a million questions because he’s one of those guys who doesn’t want to understand. ” wrong, but he’s not afraid to get it wrong because he wants to learn and be the best. So it’s just nice to have him in the room, nice to see him play there. To watch him grow every day. It’s nice to be a part of it. “
Mapu has so far worn a red non-contact jersey during OTAs while recovering from a chest injury, but he has opened eyes with his game despite the condition.
It’s important to preface that this is only June, but Mapu, first round pick Christian Gonzalez (who remains on the outside with the starting unit), and second round defensive end Keion White seem to be adjusting to the NFL very nice.
How the QBs played
I think it’s fair to characterize Friday’s session as an up-and-down day for the quarterbacks. Mac Jones underwent surgery during the first competitive 11-on-11 period and completed six of his seven passes as he marched the offense down the field for a touchdown. Jones’ day didn’t end on a high, however. In the second and final competitive 11-on-11 portion of practice, Jones was only 2 out of 6 by my count, including a pitch tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by safety Kyle Dugger, who returned it for a possible touchdown . Jones was also picked again during the second 11-on-11 period, but he was dropped by linebacker Mack Wilson Sr., who did some pushups after the game.
I also noticed that a few throws from Jones were a bit behind his intended receiver. That included one for DeVante Parker during the final 11-on-11 period, but the wideout saved him with an impressive catch that required him to flip his body again. For the day, Jones completed 8 out of 13, which was mainly against the first team defence.
As for Zappe, he was a little more efficient throwing the ball, but he also went against the second defensive unit. He was 7 of 10 during the first period and had a nice touchdown oblique throw to receiver Raleigh Webb in the red zone. He also had a long touchdown against Kevin Harris, who broke away down the sideline. However, like Jones, Zappe struggled the second time around. While he was 6 out of 8 during the session. He had a pick for Mapu on a pitch meant for Matt Sokol and then should have thrown another to Mapu if the rookie hadn’t popped the ball out of his chest. I had Zappe 13 of 18 on his throws on the day.
Local prospect gets a chance
The Patriots signed Rhode Island wide receiver Ed Lee as an undrafted free agent earlier this week and the local prospect has gotten some work in multiple facets as he tries to land a role to potentially make the team. He kicked off alongside Jabrill Peppers and seventh-round rookie Isaiah Bolden. With some of New England’s top receivers still missing, he has also gained representatives at receiver. Of the three targets he received from Zappe, Lee caught two while the other was nearly picked up by Mapu.
Jack Jones gambles against Gonzalez
With Jonathan Jones absent from Friday’s practice, Jack Jones was the next man in the outside corner facing Gonzalez. The 2022 fourth-rounder is coming off a solid rookie season in which he broke six passes and had two interceptions in 13 games played. If he can take his game to the next level in Year 2, there will be quite a youth movement going on in the New England defense.
Veteran kicker Nick Folk took the field for the first time during these OTA sessions open to the media. New England put in a lot of special teamwork on Friday, and as the team transitions into mini camp and eventual training camp, one of the notable storylines will be the battle between him and fourth round Chad Ryland, who would seemingly have the inside of the track. function.
Presence
As for who was absent from Friday’s practice, here are some of the notable players missing from action.
Of course, Monday is the start of minicamp, which is mandatory, so all these players (and the others who were also missing) would have to be accounted for then.
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