FOXBORO — It took a week of Patriots training camp, but wide receiver Kayshon Boutte started to show his potential during the team’s second fully padded session of the summer Wednesday.
Boutte, a former five-star recruit, took on a greater role Wednesday with second-year pro Tyquan Thornton limited to conditioning work. The LSU product received his first reps with starting quarterback Mac Jones and made three catches in competitive periods.
Boutte had wins in both of his 1-on-1 reps over starting cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones. He also made a sliding catch from Jones later in an 11-on-11 period. Boutte’s previous catches in camp came from backup quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Trace McSorely.
“Training camp’s been smooth,” Boutte said. “Getting into the gist of how they do things out here in New England.
“I started off slow, but we’re building up every day. As y’all seen, the offense did great today. It’s all about stacking days. So hopefully come out tomorrow and be better than today. Just be better day by day.”
Boutte came into Wednesday’s practice catching just 2-of-7 targets in competitive drills. He also missed a practice on Sunday for undisclosed reasons. After Wednesday’s performance, Boutte’s now improved his catch rate by hauling in 5-of-10 targets.
Boutte said he feels “great” after an injury slowed him in his final season at LSU. Once believed to be a potential first-round pick, Boutte slid to the Patriots in the sixth round due to injuries, a poor showing at the NFL Scouting Combine and some off-field concerns.
Boutte said his slow start in camp was caused by “kind of getting back to myself.”
“Just getting into the flow of things.”
The Patriots believe things could be clicking for Boutte. A source said the rookie wide receiver is “playing faster every day.”
Patriots rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas has been a standout over the first week of training camp. He beat cornerbacks Marcus Jones and Shaun Wade in 1-on-1 drills. Douglas has yet to catch a pass from Mac Jones, however.