Patriots OTA observations: A.J. Brown appears, Drake Maye shines, starter leaves early (original) (raw)

FOXBORO — All eyes were on new Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown in Tuesday’s practice, but it was quarterback Drake Maye and tight end Hunter Henry who stole the show during the second session open to the media this spring.

Maye looked much more poised in this week’s practice compared to last Wednesday’s session and strung together an impressive streak of completions.

Brown, meanwhile, participated fully in individual drills but was only on the field for a smattering of 11-on-11 reps, which is not a big surprise since he just arrived in Foxboro during the morning. Brown was targeted once during the full-team drills and caught a pass, running a curl route, from Maye.

Tuesday’s practice also saw an offensive starter leave early with an apparent injury, gave some intel on who’s an early fill-in for injured tight end Julian Hill and provided some hints at the Patriots’ internal depth chart.

Here are the Herald’s complete observations from Tuesday’s voluntary Organized Team Activities (OTA) practice:

Attendance

Absent: CB Christian Gonzalez, EDGE Harold Landry, CB Carlton Davis, WR Kayshon Boutte, CB Marcus Jones, LB K.J. Britt, EDGE Gabe Jacas

Non-participant: CB Charles Woods, WR Kyle Dixon, EDGE Bradyn Swinson

Limited: CB Marcellas Dial, LG Alijah Vera-Tucker

Non-contact jersey: N/A

Injuries: RT Morgan Moses

Injured reserve: TE Julian Hill

Notes: Mack Hollins returned to practice after missing last Wednesday’s OTA session. Hollins was a regular participant in the Patriots’ starting offense along with Romeo Doubs and DeMario Douglas in Boutte’s absence. Kyle Williams and Efton Chism also got reps with the starters. Jones and Britt were newly absent to practice. Woods was on the field but without a helmet. Swinson and Dixon were spotted but only doing work off to the side. Swinson suffered an apparent injury in last week’s open practice. Dial worked on his own on a side field during team drills. The third-year cornerback tore his ACL last summer during training camp. Vera-Tucker participated in walk-through drills but was not on the field during competitive 11-on-11s. Hill was placed on injured reserve Monday when Brown was acquired via trade with the Eagles. Head coach Mike Vrabel said Hill’s injury, reportedly a knee, was suffered during a practice.

Play of the Day

Maye finds Henry down the seam: Maye hit tight end Hunter Henry, who was running a vertical route, down the seam to kick off the Patriots’ third period of 11-on-11s. After Henry ran back up the field to get aligned, Maye connected with him again down the sideline for another nice gain. Maye struggled to hit deep shots in practice last week, so it was promising to see him throw with better touch overall Tuesday.

Player of the Day

TE Hunter Henry: The Patriots’ veteran tight end tied for the team lead with four catches in team periods. With Hill suffering a season-ending injury in OTAs, the Patriots will need Henry to continue to be at his best this season. He’s started out hot during spring practices and was the first player targeted by Maye in Tuesday’s practice.

QB corner

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye throws during OTAs at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Drake Maye: 17-of-22; Tommy DeVito: 9-of-15: Maye wasn’t perfect, but he did complete 14 straight passes at one point in 11-on-11 drills. Maye’s worst throws came early. He fired a shot into no man’s land in between Hollins and Jack Westover on his third dropback of the day. After connecting with Brown, his next pass floated over running back TreVeyon Henderson’s head. But Maye did make some quality throws and decisions on the afternoon. He hit Kyle Williams in stride on a dig route that the speedy wide receiver could have housed for a touchdown. He later held onto the ball a tick longer than usual and sent a floater over to Westover in the middle of the field after congestion caused a delay in the route concept. Maye’s two final throws were incompletions. Douglas made a diving attempt at one of Maye’s targets that was out of reach. His last passing attempt was nearly picked off by cornerback Kobee Minor, reaching out one-handed while covering Doubs in the middle of the field.

All in all, it was a good day from Maye. But there’s still room for improvement.

Rookie Behren Morton didn’t receive any reps behind Maye and DeVito. DeVito also had a better showing than last week. Two of his incompletions were dropped by tight ends CJ Dippre and Eli Raridon. He later delivered a strike to Raridon down the field.

Studs

Maye: Maye and the offense will look even better when Brown is fully acclimated and Boutte is back on the field. It’s at least worth noting that the Patriots were down their top three cornerbacks in Tuesday’s practice, but Maye was mostly on point.

DT Leonard Taylor III: The backup defensive tackle was disruptive during 11-on-11 passing drills, batting two passes at the line of scrimmage. At least for now, Taylor looks like he’s behind Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Cory Durden, Eric Gregory and Joshua Farmer in the defensive tackle pecking order, but he earned a spot on the active roster during last season’s postseason run and will be back on the team if he continues to string together practices like Tuesday’s.

Duds

RB TreVeyon Henderson: Quarterbacks were 2-of-4 targeting Henderson on the afternoon. Henderson also fumbled after hauling in a pass from DeVito. It was safety/special teams ace Brenden Schooler who poked it out for the forced fumble.

TE CJ Dippre: Dippre’s drop was more egregious than Raridon’s. Raridon will make the squad as a third-round pick in 2026. Dippre, who went undrafted last spring, is competing for a roster spot behind Henry and Raridon along with Westover and UDFA Tanner Arkin. With Hill going down for the season, it would not be surprising if the Patriots signed a veteran tight end to the 90-man roster. Will Dissly, formerly of the Chargers and Seahawks, seems like the best fit if the Patriots are looking for a blocking tight end with some receiving skills.

Offensive notes

New England Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins makes a catch during OTAs at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Top targets in team drills: WR DeMario Douglas: 4/6, TE Hunter Henry: 4/4, WR Efton Chism: 4/4, RB TreVeyon Henderson: 2/4, WR Mack Hollins: 2/3, TE Eli Raridon: 2/3, WR Kyle Williams: 2/2, WR Romeo Doubs: 1/2, WR A.J. Brown: 1/1, FB Reggie Gilliam: 1/1, TE Jack Westover: 1/1, RB Rhamondre Stevenson: 1/1, RB Myles Montgomery: 1/1, TE CJ Dippre: 0/1, WR Jimmy Kibble: 0/1

Drops: Dippre, Raridon

Top offensive line: LT Will Campbell, LG Alijah Vera-Tucker, C Jared Wilson, RG Mike Onwenu, RT Morgan Moses

• Vera-Tucker was replaced by Ben Brown at left guard during competitive 11-on-11 drills. There was a ton of rotation along the offensive line throughout practice.
• Westover transitioned to fullback last training camp but spent all of practice as the Patriots’ second-string tight end behind Henry. Westover saw considerable time with the starting offense and caught a pass from Maye.
• Doubs, who signed a four-year, $68 million contract this offseason, hasn’t been overly productive through two practices, but it’s obviously far too early to panic about the veteran wide receiver. But with A.J. Brown still learning the offense and Boutte out, Doubs has had plenty of opportunities with Maye.
• Veteran offensive lineman Andrew Rupcich also saw first-team reps at left guard. He cross-trained at center, as well.
• After Moses left the field with trainers, rookie Caleb Lomu and second-year pro Marcus Bryant split time at right tackle.
• Bryant also played left tackle on the second-string offensive line next to LG Rupcich, C Brown, RG Caedan Wallace and RT Lomu.
• Veteran offensive tackle James Hudson III also spent some reps at guard while the Patriots continue to search for depth on their interior offensive line.
• Rookie Dametrious Crownover played both left and right tackle in backup groups.
• Douglas and Chism both had strong showings. It’s not atypical for shifty slot receivers to stand out in unpadded practices, but both have a knack for getting open quickly. With Brown now aboard, Douglas and Chism might be competing for one spot on the roster if Brown, Doubs, Boutte, Hollins and Williams are all viewed as locks.
• It was notable to see Gilliam catch another pass in practice. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels clearly sees a role for the fullback in the passing game.

Defensive notes

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel makes a point during OTAs at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Top personnel during team periods: DT Milton Williams, DT Christian Barmore, EDGE Dre’Mont Jones, EDGE Elijah Ponder, LB Robert Spillane, LB Christian Elliss, CB Kindle Vildor, CB Kobee Minor, CB Karon Prunty, S Kevin Byard, S Craig Woodson, S Mike Brown, DT Cory Durden, LB Chad Muma, S Dell Pettus, DT Joshua Farmer, DT Eric Gregory, DT Leonard Taylor III, OLB Jesse Luketa, CB Brandon Crossley, LB Amari Gainer.

Interceptions: None

Pass breakups: Taylor, Minor

Defensive notes

• The Patriots were down their top five cornerbacks, so Vildor, Prunty and Minor stepped up in the absence of Gonzalez, Davis, Jones, Woods and Dial.
• Minor, Mr. Irrelevant in 2025, aligned in the slot with the first-team unit and later made the most of his opportunities with a pass breakup on an attempt from Maye to Doubs.
• Ponder once again elevated to the first-team unit in place of Landry.
• With Britt absent, Muma and Gainer took on bigger roles in the middle of the field.
• Linebacker still seems like a spot where the Patriots could afford to add another experienced player into the mix.
• Durden is expected to be the Patriots’ starting nose tackle this season after the team allowed Khyiris Tonga to walk in free agency to the Chiefs. Durden has all the confidence in the world and was even talking about a potential Pro Bowl season after practice. He believes the Patriots could have one of the top defensive tackle units in the NFL this season. Williams, Barmore and Durden are locks. Gregory, Farmer and Taylor are probably competing for two open backup roles.

Extra points

• Patriots offensive line coach Doug Marrone had a knee procedure, so assistant coaches Jason Houghtaling and Jonathan Decoster coached the O-line in his absence.
• The Patriots will move minicamp up from June 15-17 to June 9-11. “That will give us Monday to clean up a couple of physicals on some guys that weren’t here previously, and then three days of really good work there. That will conclude the veteran offseason program,” Vrabel said.
• That also allows the Patriots to close up shop before the FIFA World Cup begins at “Boston Stadium” on June 13.
• The Patriots will hold joint practices with the Colts on Aug. 11 and with the Eagles on Aug. 19 and 20. All three sessions will be held at the Gillette Stadium practice fields.