FOXBORO — Last weekend, Patriots safety Jalen Mills intercepted Bailey Zappe during a red-zone drill late in one training camp practice.

Mills later explained the play by saying he had recognized the receivers’ route combination from his tape study of an earlier practice and jumped it. According to fellow safety Adrian Phillips, Mills would be lucky to see that same look again.

Because in describing what new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien has brought to the Patriots, Phillips, a 10th-year veteran, pinpointed one thing.

“Variety,” he said. “We never see the same thing twice. It’s a lot of variety. (O’Brien) has a lot of different guys in different spots, and he uses them to the best of their ability, and he just dials it up. And you can also tell that obviously he’s watching film on the defense, too.

“When he sees us make a check on defense, the next day he might come out and throw a little wrinkle in there.”

Through one week, O’Brien has introduced far more motion and optionality to the static, basic, dysfunctional offense that embodied last season’s struggles. Extra motion, both before and at the snap, has forced an experienced Patriots defense to react and adjust on almost a play-by-play basis early in camp. While that defense got the better of O’Brien’s offense early — holding Mac Jones and Co. to completion percentage below 50% through three practices of red-zone work — Jones has emerged since with a mark close to 75% over the last three days.

“When you start adding shifts and motion, the hard counts, all of that stuff, it makes it that much harder,” Phillips said. “It makes the communication that much more vital because if you don’t comm then you’ve got people popping up 40 yards down the field.”

No one on the Patriots’ roster has arguably benefitted more from the changes than tight end Hunter Henry. Henry started camp with two touchdowns during tight red-zone drills and capped Tuesday’s practice with another score. Just like in Jones’ rookie year of 2021, Henry has become his go-to target as the offense starts anew.

“It’s fun,” Henry said. “So we’re getting a lot thrown at us, and we’re trying to throw a lot at our defense, too. It’s kind of a daily battle of who’s going to get to who.”