Not everybody came out of organized team activities and mandatory minicamp a winner for the New England Patriots.
That doesn’t mean they won’t bounce back in the summer and turn things around at training camp. It’s always important to avoid overreacting to spring practices, especially when players aren’t even working out in pads.
But then again, the teams wouldn’t be meeting if OTAs and minicamp weren’t considered important offseason work. There were clearly standouts for the Patriots on the field, and on the other end of the spectrum, there were also players that struggled.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from the Patriots’ spring practices:
Winner: Mac Jones
Mac Jones shut down the critics thinking Bailey Zappe would challenge him for the starting job in New England. Once again, it was Jones leading the charge for most of the first team reps.
Things aren’t close to perfect for the Patriots offensively, but they are significantly better off with Bill O’Brien calling the offensive plays, along with the additions of wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Mike Gesicki at the skilled positions.
Jones should come into the summer practices as confident as he’s ever been with O’Brien wearing the headset.
Loser: Riley Reiff
Riley Reiff was treated like a potential starter for the Patriots offensive line before he even took a practice field snap. The 34-year-old NFL veteran had experience on his side, and the Patriots had a Grand Canyon-sized hole at offensive tackle.
Unfortunately for New England, Reiff struggled in the early practices and was moved off to work with the second-team unit. The Patriots could be forced to look for help elsewhere at right tackle.
Conor McDermott and Calvin Anderson are currently the top-two options on the roster, and neither one of them being on the field bodes well for the offense.
Winner: Christian Gonzalez
Rookie first-round draft pick Christian Gonzalez has hit the ground running as an NFL player. Coach Bill Belichick wasted no time in throwing the former Oregon standout cornerback in with the first-team defense, and he has looked like he’s belonged from the very beginning.
His former coach, Dan Lanning, compared him to a Madden video game character creation considering he’s a near perfect build as a cornerback. No, he wasn’t saying Gonzalez is perfect, but if you were building a playmaker from the ground up, Gonzalez is the mold that would be followed.
Loser: JuJu Smith-Schuster
Let me preface by saying none of this is JuJu Smith-Schuster’s fault. The star wideout was injured in the AFC Championship Game with the Kansas City Chiefs last season, and he’s still working his way through things to get back to 100 percent.
He didn’t participate in the spring practices, which is a bit concerning considering the importance of him being on the field and nailing down the chemistry with quarterback Mac Jones. Some vital reps were missed in his absence.
But according to Jones, Smith-Schuster has been hard at work behind the scenes studying the offense in hopes of limiting the time it’ll take to get up to speed when he returns.
Winner: Marte Mapu
It hasn’t taken long for rookie third-round draft pick Marte Mapu to start turning heads on the practice field. That isn’t the least bit surprising for those in the know.
Mapu was one of the 2023 NFL draft’s best-kept secrets, and he’s showing why in his ability to do everything on defense. He can play free safety, linebacker and come off the edge as a pass-rusher, if needed. That type of versatile chess piece with Belichick overseeing the board should strike fear into opposing offenses.
Loser: Lawrence Guy
Lawrence Guy was already in danger of being edged out by rookie second-round draft pick Keion White. So he probably didn’t do himself any favors in missing mandatory minicamp.
It’s believed Guy missed the practices for contract reasons. But at age 33, his leverage in that regard is slipping. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a reliable playmaker along the defensive front. Guy can still ball on the field, and off the field, he’s one of the greatest representations of the Patriots’ organization there’s ever been.
Winner: Mike Gesicki
It hasn’t taken long for Mike Gesicki to fit into the Patriots offense. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s love for deploying multiple tight ends on the field at the same time is already showing in the heavy usage of both Gesicki and Hunter Henry.
Gesicki is another potential playmaker for the Patriots to cause match-up problems for opposing defenses. What the team lacks in explosive one-on-one playmakers they hope to make up for by getting the ball out quickly and exploiting bad match-ups.
At the very least, Gesicki should be able to do a better job of that with the Patriots than Jonnu Smith did.
Winner: Tyquan Thornton
Tyquan Thornton wasn’t on the field for long this spring due to a soft tissue injury suffered at practice. However, he showed signs of significant improvement in the little time he was able to get in the offense.
That extra year under his belt coupled with better play-calling had the second-year wideout looking like a potential 2023 breakout candidate. He has quickly become one of the players to watch at training camp.
Winner: Jabrill Peppers
It isn’t every day that Bill Belichick gushes about one of his players like he did with safety Jabrill Peppers at minicamp.
When asked about the improvements he’s seen from the defensive back, Belichick started laying on the praise like Peppers was a player on an opposing team ahead of a regular season match-up.
“Oh yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. Totally is a much different player…” Belichick said, when asked about Peppers, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Getting that sort of praise from the greatest coach of all time is a major win for Peppers.
Winner: Trent Brown
Trent Brown missed OTAs, and he also missed the first day of minicamp due to a flight-related issue. He did return to the team for the final day of minicamp, but he only did conditioning work at that practice.
So how is he considered a winner on this list?
The reason is circumstantial for the 30-year-old offensive tackle. The right tackle position has been a hot mess, and there truly is a lack of reliable depth at tackle as a whole. Suddenly, Brown is one of the most important players on the entire roster.
There was no question that he’d be the top tackle on the team, but the circumstances seemed far less daunting than before the start of training camp. Brown’s presence is needed now more than ever.
