FOXBORO — Bill O’Brien may prove to be the Patriots’ savior this season, even if only for his Xs and Os.
But through the start of training camp, O’Brien might already be running short on fishes and loaves.
As the Patriots expanded their increasingly clever offensive playbook Friday, three of their five best pass-catchers literally came up empty. Through three training camp practices, wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton and tight end Mike Gesicki have yet to catch a single pass during competitive team drills. Meanwhile, sixth-round rookie wideout Demario Douglas caught four Friday — by himself.
It should be noted the Pats offense continues to operate within the tight confines of the red zone against a defense that expects pass and rolled over 10 starters from last season. But if Gesicki, Bourne and Thornton fail to play to their potential, the schemes and game plans O’Brien draws up won’t matter. Football is a game of matchups.
Not to mention, the Patriots are already lean at offensive tackle. That is expected to restrict O’Brien’s ability to call longer-developing pass plays and lead to an emphasis on the short passing game. However, executing in tight quarters — as the Pats have experienced and seen — requires immediate and consistent separation. And none of their receivers excel at uncovering within five yards of the line of scrimmage.
Time to panic? No, no, no. The Patriots have yet to put on full pads, make a single tackle or play a preseason game. The NFL summer is long.
But specific to Bourne and Thornton, time is ticking. They disappointed last season, and the organization is betting at least one of them will deliver as a serviceable No. 3 receiver.
As for the good news? Matt Judon and Rhamondre Stevenson returned to practice in full capacity, one defensive back dominated 11-on-11s and another pass-catcher delivered the Play of the Day.
Here are the Herald’s complete practice observations.
Absent: DL Christian Barmore, RB/WR Ty Montgomery
Limited: LB Terez Hall
Non-contact jersey: LB/S Marte Mapu
PUP: OL Mike Onwenu, S Cody Davis
Non-Football Injury: DaMarcus Mitchell
Non-Football Illness: OT Calvin Anderson
Notes: Judon and Stevenson returned to mostly full participation after spending Thursday’s practice on the lower conditioning field. Stevenson took his regular snaps in team periods, while Judon rotated in late with the starting defense during 11-on-11s. He also participated in all prior drills.
Barmore missed his first practice of the summer for unknown reasons, while Montgomery sat out after injuring his lower left leg in practice Thursday.
After a day devoid of highlights, the Patriots wasted little time producing a big play in Friday’s practice.
Mac Jones took his opening snap of 7-on-7s from the 20-yard line, looked left and lofted a perfect ball to Hunter Henry running down the sideline with Adrian Phillips in his hip pocket. After crossing the goal line, Henry made a quarter-turn spin back toward the ball, snatched it over Phillips’ head with both hands and tumbled backwards for a score. The crowd roared.
Kyle Dugger intercepted Mac Jones on the first two days of training camp, but the best practice performance by a defensive back thus far came Friday.
Jones registered two pass breakups, blanketing DeVante Parker on a curl route in 11-on-11s and then punching the ball out in the back of the end zone to best Parker again three snaps later. In fact, Jones out-fought Parker on the latter play, a corner route where Parker tried to elevate for a contested catch but couldn’t time it well. Jones didn’t allow a catch on either of his other targets on team drills, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 in coverage.
Matthew Judon explains early limitations in Patriots training camp
Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods only. The stats in parentheses represent the quarterbacks' camp-long performance.
Another day, another pass breakup.
The first-round rookie cut off several routes, strapping himself to the Patriots' best receivers. He beat Tyquan Thornton, running a short in-cut, for a pass deflection, his second in as many days. Gonzalez allowed just one catch on three targets, a harmless checkdown.
The sleeper of training camp so far.
Douglas, a 5-foot-8, 192-pound spark plug in the slot, caught four passes on five targets in team drills. The rookie continues to rep with the starters in 11-on-11 periods, though most of his receptions came courtesy of Bailey Zappe.
As a field stretcher, Thornton's game isn't exactly built for the red-zone work the Patriots have kept busy with through three days. But as a former second-round pick who stands at 6-foot-3 and is expected to make a Year 2 leap, he must be better. There's no excuses for zero catches, let alone two of your three targets resulting in pass breakups.
Bourne edges Gesicki for his dishonor because he has a connection with Mac Jones and experience in parts of the new offense. Also, he bobbled his only target, a back-corner incompletion with Gonzalez in coverage.
Patriots’ JuJu Smith-Schuster indirectly compares Mac Jones to QB greats
Christian Gonzalez proving to be exactly what Patriots needed early in training camp