Training Camp Stock Watch: Pats Defense Dominates Physical Practice

Training Camp Stock Watch: Pats Defense Dominates Physical Practice originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

FOXBORO – The Patriots put on pads for the first time last Monday. They had six practices in 90+ degree heat. Everyone was almost two hours long. Five of them had complete blocks.

After a mandatory day off on Sunday (teams are limited to practicing more than three days in a row), the pads were put back on and the Patriots went into full contact — attacking the floor in some parts of practice.

Jerod Mayo’s first camp thus far has been more physically taxing than the ones Bill Belichick has run over the past two seasons (at least). Where will this lead? I don’t know. But Mayo, who strengthen players, are clearly not giving their team physical freedom.

So he tops my Stock Watch.

Editor’s note: Patriots Insider Phil Perry also contributed to Monday’s Stock Watch. His contributions are noted after Curran’s for each section.

Stockpile (Curran)

Jerod Mayo, head coach

It was a good week for Mayo in terms of setting a tone and dealing with adversity. Along with the grueling practices mentioned above, the team is improving on offense in terms of efficiency and production. The pre-snap penalties, the slowness at the line of scrimmage, the constant image of the defense winning snap after snap? For the most part, everything is gone. It’s not clockwork and almost every racing game feels like 30 people crammed into the subway as the doors close. But there are victories.

Furthermore, Mayo negotiated the difficult situation that Matthew Judon’s contract impasse put him in, causing Judon leaving training when he was not participatinghaving a day of reflection period and then bringing Judon back to the field. That’s no small feat in the 2024 NFL for either coach or player. Mayo also had to deal with the news of Christian Barmore’s medical situation and the oddity of Davon Godchaux getting a deal while Judon was still upset. The next checkpoint is a big one: the first preseason game on Thursday.

Kayshon Boutte, wide receiver

Know what? In two years of watching Kayshon Boutte, he never failed to impress me. He’s out there, practice after practice. He runs precise routes, catches just about everything that hits his hands, and has some of the best body control I’ve seen from a Patriots receiver in a long time. DeMario Douglas is more agile and faster. Ja’Lynn Polk seems a little more sudden. Kendrick Bourne has better length and experience. Javon Baker will likely be more dangerous on the field. But Boutte is incredibly consistent.

On Monday, he did what he does in almost every training session: he snatched passes. The highlight was a red-zone trap by Joe Milton that had a vapor trail trapped on a 1-on-1. On a tough day for the run game, I thought it was worth highlighting Boutte’s consistency and production because ultimately , it will likely be him versus Tyquan Thornton for the final spot on the roster.

Execute defense

There isn’t much going on at the line of scrimmage for the Patriots running backs. If you like the Patriots, you hope it’s because the front seven defensemen are disrupting things so much that there’s nowhere to go. You really hope NOT, because the offensive line remains leaky. It’s probably a little of both.

Stock up (Perry)

Davon Godchaux, defender

The veteran defensive tackle had two runs, including a replay in which he beat a block from Mike Onwenu to tackle Antonio Gibson. The Patriots defense was very good on Monday against the run, and Godchaux was right in the middle for a number of things.

Godchaux also pushed Caedan Wallace back into Drake Maye’s lap – Wallace’s back actually bumped into Maye – in an 11-on-11 period.

Anfernee Jennings, linebacker

The tight ends were unable to block Jennings in the one-on-one period. He bullied Mitchell Wilcox and then proved to be too strong for Austin Hooper.

Jennings is more of a run-stuffer than a pass-rusher, but if he’s lined up against a tight end, you should expect him to win that battle more often. And he did Monday.

Ja’Whaun Bentley, linebacker

Another rugged player who showed up on Monday, Bentley also made some impressive plays against the pass.

He connected on a Jacoby Brissett giveaway at the goal line after Kyle Dugger deflected the ball into the air. He also picked off a pass from Brissett at the line of scrimmage for an incompletion late in practice.

Low stock (Curran)

Christian González, cornerback

No crisis, but the Patriots’ best corner was beaten for a touchdown in the red zone by Tyquan Thornton on a Jacoby Brissett dart. This play occurred in the middle of several running plays and Gonzalez appeared to have been caught spying on the action.

It brought to mind this quote from Mayo last week when asked who will be behind Gonzalez in the corner:

“Once again, these guys have to earn a role on this team. And it’s not just defense. You want your corners to be able to play special teams as well, so the battles will continue. Even with Gonzo, he has to come here every day and push. I always tell these guys that success is rented, not owned, and rent is due every day, and that applies to Gonzo as well.”

Dell Pettus, security

The rugged 5-foot-11, 200-pound undrafted rookie from Troy had a number of good practices. But when he jumped on the back of an already guarded Hunter Henry during a full-contact replay and threw him to the ground, I had to deduct points.

Obviously, there was a green light for physicality. But not on a guy who is involved. Not on one of the team’s most important offensive players. It didn’t make sense. Strangely, there was no response from anyone about the offense. Maybe it was all fair play, no harm done. If so, they might want to revisit this.

Low stock (Perry)

Keion White, defensive end

The second-year pass-rusher was beaten twice in one-on-one replays by Mike Onwenu, once hitting the turf after taking a vicious punch from the big-money right guard. He was also saddled by guard Michael Jordan for a nice run from Gibson early in the session.

But it wasn’t all bad for White, who had a strong camp overall. He had good pass-rush representation later in practice, relieving Joe Milton of a game with Matthew Judon. He also picked out Jahlani Tavai on the goal line when inserted as a defender in the attack.

“We haven’t talked about it yet,” White said, “but I’ll definitely give him [expletive] about this.”

Zuri Henry, offensive tackle

UTEP’s undrafted offensive attack has been taking second-team reps lately because players at that position have become unavailable. With Chukwuma Okorafor out on Monday, that meant Calvin Anderson played right tackle (alongside left tackle Vederian Lowe) and opened up a spot for Henry on the second team.

Henry was on the scene for a Kevin Harris run and later found himself with the third offensive line unit. At one point, he appeared to let Armon Watts into the backfield, which led to a sack of Bailey Zappe. He was also in the area for White’s sacking of Milton.