Participation in the Patriots’ offseason workout program, up to this point, has been voluntary. That changes on Monday.
The Patriots will hold mandatory minicamp from June 10-12 this week on the practice field behind Gillette Stadium. The sessions are open to the media but closed to the public.
Here are 13 players we’ll be watching in this week’s sessions.
Maye is the most important player on the Patriots’ roster, because the team is hoping he’s the future of the franchise. He showed growth over the spring, ascending from taking reps third behind Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe early in training camp to second behind Brissett and in front of Zappe by last week. He responded in Tuesday’s practice with two interceptions. Assuming the Patriots don’t cancel their third day of minicamp, which the team did in the past under Bill Belichick, Maye will have a nice stretch of sessions before training camp begins in July to build up momentum for the summer.
The 2024 sixth-round pick is important, because at some point, the Patriots will need to decide to keep Milton or Zappe on their roster. The Patriots have a pretty good idea of what they have in Zappe after watching him start games in two straight seasons. Milton is much more physically gifted and has the best arm strength on the team. Now it’s about seeing if he can harness it.
The rookie fourth-round pick was an early standout in OTAs, flashing the playmaking skills that made him a four-star recruit but also some of the inconsistency that led him to drop to the fourth round. He was limited in Tuesday’s practice. If he’s healthy enough to participate in minicamp, the hope is that those inconsistencies become less frequent.
Polk has flashed great hands during individual drills but hasn’t been a standout in team drills up to this point. We’ll see if that changes in minicamp as he continues to improve his chemistry with Brissett on the field and Maye in some post-practice work.
Okorafor was repping with the first team at left tackle during the early portion of OTAs. He was absent from Tuesday’s session, however, which thrust Calvin Anderson, a 2023 free-agent pickup, into top duties. Okorafor acknowledged it could take some time for him to reacclimate to left tackle, a position he hasn’t regularly played since college.
Wallace, like Okorafor, has played a lot more right tackle than left tackle in recent years. The Patriots believe he has the athleticism to move to left tackle in the NFL, however. He had been repping at left tackle but moved to right tackle in last week’s open OTAs session.
Judon is one of the best players on the Patriots’ roster. He skipped all of the open OTAs sessions but now is required to report for minicamp to avoid a fine. The Patriots borrowed money from his 2024 salary to give him a pay raise last summer. His pay now might need to be tweaked for a second straight offseason. Judon missed most of last season with a biceps injury.
Uche somewhat surprisingly re-signed with the Patriots on a one-year, $3 million contract. He hasn’t been on the field for OTAs, however. Judon and Uche can be a dangerous duo as pass rushers in a defense that could be more aggressive under new coordinator DeMarcus Covington. The Patriots also have Christian Barmore, Deatrich Wise, Keion White and Anfernee Jennings to get after the passer.
Gonzalez looked like a defensive rookie of the year candidate before his season ended early due to a torn labrum. The 2023 first-round pick been back on the field during minicamp as the team’s top cornerback.
Jones is the top candidate to start at outside cornerback opposite Gonzalez, though the veteran could always kick back inside to his more natural slot position. Jones has been sporadically in attendance for OTAs. That’s allowed cornerbacks like Alex Austin and Marco Wilson to see more playing time in the outside cornerback spot.
Jones declared himself 100% earlier this spring, but cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino acknowledged the 2022 third-round pick has been limited in OTAs. Jones wasn’t on the field Tuesday. He’s the prime candidate to start in the slot this season, but he’s another player whose 2023 season ended early due to injury. His ailment was also a torn labrum.
The Patriots have seen a major shakeup at safety over the last two years. Devin McCourty retired after the 2022 season, and the Patriots parted ways with Adrian Phillips and Jalen Mills this offseason. That should slide Mapu, who also moonlights as a linebacker, into the third safety spot behind Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers. Mapu has looked like a natural in the box but has had some shaky moments as a deep safety.
It’s a big offseason for Ryland, who faces competition from veteran kicker Joey Slye. It’s not just making field goals and extra points Ryland has to worry about. It’s also the new kickoff rule, which encourages kickers not to boot the ball through the back of the end zone. There has been some talk among other NFL teams that a player more adept at tackling could handle kickoff duties this season. We haven’t seen that so far in OTAs, though one interesting player to potentially handle those duties would be 20-year-old undrafted free agent Jotham Russell, who is converting from Australian rugby to defensive end.