Pretty badly needing an influx of young talent on their roster, early returns show the Patriots might have scored big with their 2023 NFL Draft class.
The Patriots have nearly wrapped up their phase of training camp from the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. The team is scheduled to practice Sunday and Monday before leaving for joint practices with the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday. The Patriots will practice with the Packers twice, play a preseason game in Green Bay and then are set to travel straight to Tennessee for two more practices and a preseason game against the Titans.
But before they compete in practice against other teams, let’s first run through the six standouts from the team’s two weeks-plus of practices in Foxboro.
“Pop” popped off in training camp and was used like a near-lock for a roster spot in the Patriots’ first preseason game, taking just two snaps before joining established veterans on the sideline. The Patriots liked what they saw out of Douglas way back in the spring during OTAs and minicamp. He immediately was part of a group of skill position players spending time with starting QB Mac Jones, rather than Bailey Zappe and Trace McSorley, early in practice on the first day of training camp. He also seemed to leapfrog 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton later in the summer, though there’s still almost a month before the start of the regular season for that to change.
Douglas’ speed, quickness and agility consistently stood out in team drills, and the separation he gained in 1-on-1s is the stuff of legends. He also proved to have sure hands.
The Liberty product was a favorite target of Zappe’s and earned more and more reps with Jones as training camp wore on. Ask any player on the Patriots’ roster about Douglas, and their eyes will light up.
“Yeah, Pop Shotta,” Jones said earlier this month. “That’s my guy. I’m going to call him Pop Shotta. Anyways, he’s a great kid, works really hard.”
Douglas is only 5-foot-8 and said recently he’s weighing in around 183 pounds. His future is in the slot, where the Patriots have had a litany of impressive performers. As far as stature goes, he’s more similarly sized to Wes Welker than Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Troy Brown or Jakobi Meyers. If Douglas isn’t ready for snaps right away, then veteran wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne and tight end Mike Gesicki can also play in the slot.
Douglas can also return punts, but those duties likely will be filled by cornerback Marcus Jones.
Parker, who earned a three-year contract extension this offseason, wasn’t quite as consistent as Douglas, but he had a flair for big plays this summer. He also was one of Mac Jones’ overall favorite targets.
The former Miami Dolphins wide receiver was Jones’ best downfield threat and dominated contested catches after a slightly slow start to camp. Parker won battles for big gains over cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones and Isaiah Bolden. He also finished 5-2 in 1-on-1 drills.
Parker only caught 31 passes in 13 games last season but averaged 17.4 yards per reception. If he stays healthy, he could be due for a bounce-back season. He’s an entrenched starter in the offense alongside fellow skill-position players Rhamondre Stevenson, Smith-Schuster and Hunter Henry.
Henry was Jones’ top overall target at least through the early portion of training camp. He was a touchdown vacuum through the first week of practices before slowing down a bit once pads were strapped on.
Henry was well ahead of Gesicki in the tight end pecking order when the Patriots went into 11 personnel. He caught a career-high nine touchdowns from Jones in their first year together in 2021. They connected for just one score in 2022.
If training camp was any indication, then Henry should be getting fed in the red zone in new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s offense. He said he slimmed down this offseason, and that appeared to be paying off with improved fluidity.
Uche is a fascinating pass-rusher in the Patriots’ defense. Typically preferring bigger, stronger edge defenders (like the name mentioned down below), Uche is one of the NFL’s smaller edge defenders at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds.
But what Uche lacks in stature, he more than makes up for in quickness. Former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia spoke with WEEI on Friday and said quickness and speed is harder for blockers to handle than power. That certainly proved to be the case with Uche last season, when he registered 11.5 sacks in a breakout season.
Now in a contract year as a 2020 second-round pick, Uche was regularly in the Patriots backfield during full-team competitive drills, giving his team’s tackles fits. He also was a big winner in 1-on-1 pass rush drills.
Uche will combine with Matthew Judon, Deatrich Wise, Christian Barmore, rookie Keion White and potentially even veteran Trey Flowers for what should be a very formidable pass rush that will look to help out a secondary losing their longtime leader in retired safety Devin McCourty.
It wasn’t a massive surprise to see White shine in Thursday’s preseason debut based on what he showed in training camp. The rookie second-round pick was a regular winner in 1-on-1 pass rush drills and earned multiple sacks in 11-on-11s.
At 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, White is a rare athlete who wound up standing up on the edge for 15 snaps Thursday night. He kicked inside for 12 more snaps and was in on the punt coverage team. The versatile defender ran an explosive 4.79-second 40-yard dash during the pre-draft process.
White, 24, feels like the type of player who will cause pundits to scratch their heads years from now and wonder how he fell to the second round of the draft. Simply from a size perspective, White is not dissimilar to NFL legend J.J. Watt. And Watt wasn’t standing up on the edge very frequently during his career.
The Patriots’ draft class has been extremely impressive so far this summer. Douglas and White are the top standouts, but Gonzalez will be a Week 1 starter, linebacker/safety Marte Mapu looks primed for a big role, guard Atonio Mafi should be the team’s top backup guard, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte has shown promise, and Bolden and fellow cornerback Ameer Speed are tall, fast, toolsy defenders.
Another key defender in a contract year from that 2020 draft, Dugger should take over McCourty’s post as the Patriots’ top safety this season. Dugger picked off Jones three times in training camp.
Head coach Bill Belichick showered him with uncommon praise early in camp.
“Big, can run, can tackle, cover, blitz. Those guys are great,” Belichick said. “That’s why they go high in the draft. There’s a premium for them, and they get paid a lot of money. That’s what they bring.”
Time will tell whether Dugger takes more reps in the box or at free safety this season, but he certainly continued his ball-hawking ways while facing his own offense. Dugger has seven interceptions over his last two seasons, and he scored three defensive touchdowns last year.
QB/WR Malik Cunningham: The UDFA didn’t stand out much as a pass-catcher but showed a spark at QB even before his star-turning performance Thursday night.
WR Kayshon Boutte: The former five-star recruit got out to a slow start in camp but made some spectacular catches in the second week.
P Bryce Baringer: The rookie’s hangtime and distance have wowed punter connoisseurs in the media tent this summer.