School is almost out.
The Patriots’ mandatory, three-day minicamp will kick off Monday outside Gillette Stadium before a summer recess. In recent months, Bill Belichick overhauled his offensive coaching staff, bolstered his weapons and restocked his defense with a widely lauded draft class. For the first time this year, the 2023 Patriots will take the field as a complete team.
How will it all come together? Here are five things to follow in Foxboro:
1. Mac’s chemistry
So far, so good.
Mac Jones took every starting rep in Organized Team Activity (OTA) practices open to the media in prior weeks. He reportedly looked sharp and connected with several new targets, including tight end Mike Gesicki. Jones will set the tone for this offense, with his demeanor and work ethic, but most critically his performance.
If he’s playing well, that will force everyone around him to elevate their performance, including possibly JuJu Smith-Schuster who did not participate in OTAs. And that means more than usual, considering the Patriots treat their OTAs and minicamps as de facto passing camps and they lost two OTA practices due to meetings violations. If Jones continues to thrive in minicamp, despite less on-field time, hope for this new offense should only continue to grow inside and outside the building.
2. How involved are the top rookies?
Third-round rookie linebacker/safety Marte Mapu stole the show at the Patriots’ final OTA practice, recording an interception and pass breakup in team drills. Mapu also repped with the top defense, as did first-round rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez and second-rounder Keion White. But Mapu, who will have more on his playbook plate than either of his draft classmates playing linebacker and/or safety, has more to prove.
If Mapu continues to rep with the starting unit, that’s the clearest indication the staff believes he could contribute this season. He also faces stiffer position competition than Gonzalez and White, who have clearer paths to playing time, even if it’s a smaller role in White’s case. Other rookies to watch: wide receivers Boutte and Douglas and offensive guards Sidy Sow and Atonio Mafi.
3. Devin McCourty replacement
Kyle Dugger?
Jalen Mills?
Jonathan Jones …?
The Patriots have already admitted they can’t — and won’t — replace McCourty with a single player. He was the glue in their secondary, an iron man who made pre-snap checks and coverage audibles and nary a mistake. Not to mention, McCourty served as the literal last line of defense in the Pats’ preferred single-high coverages and snatched a few interceptions every year.
The Patriots are without a traditional free safety, but several players, including Dugger, Jones and Adrian Phillips, have moonlighted at the position. McCourty has said he believes a rotation will benefit the defense as a way to disguise coverages. But how many players can be included in that rotation, who takes the first snaps, the most snaps and can handle the mental workload McCourty did for more than a decade, all remains to be seen.
This week will provide the first hints to those answers.
Patriots’ Kendrick Bourne enjoying transition to Bill O’Brien: ‘It’s something we needed’
4. Bill O'Brien's base stuff
A year ago, the signs of offensive change surfaced right away.
The Patriots opened every running drill with outside zone plays. Mac Jones looked long and threw deep in team periods. He also triggered new run-pass option plays (RPOs) that hardly threatened the Pats' top defense and every opponent they faced in the regular season.
So what will Bill O'Brien bring?
After losing two OTA practices for offseason infractions, O'Brien must pack his system installation into a tighter schedule, meaning what reporters see is what fans should get come September (at least schematically). Expect his offense to look like a modernized version offense Josh McDaniels orchestrated for years, with more dynamic RPOs, increased motion and perhaps an emphasis on multi-tight end packages considering Gesicki's performance so far this spring.
5. Overhauled special teams
A kicker competition. A new punter. A bevy of young returners and fresh faces.
The Patriots' special teams cost them a trip to the playoffs last year in their season-ending loss at Buffalo and arguably a 10-win season after their miserable failures at Minnesota on Thanksgiving. Bill Belichick acted accordingly this offseason, overhauling all four phases.
Marcus Jones should be considered the favorite to return kicks and punts again after his All-Pro rookie season, but Dugger, Jabrill Peppers and seventh-round rookie Isaiah Bolden should push him. Bolden took several reps in OTAs. Meanwhile, rookie kicker Chad Ryland will compete against veteran Nick Folk and Bryce Baringer, who bombed a 78-yard punt at the Senior Bowl, will see their first extended action.
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