Patriots rookie report: Who's rising and who's falling after two weeks of camp?

New York Times

17 hours ago

FOXBORO, Mass. — There's little sugarcoating the poor results of the New England Patriots' last three draft classes (Drake Maye not withstanding).
Good teams land four or five starters in each draft class, and the Pats are significantly behind pace in recent years, which is essentially why they've fallen to the depths of back-to-back 4-13 seasons.
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That's why the hope and promise that comes with this year's 11-person draft class is so important. This needs to be the one to turn things around.
So, a couple of weeks into training camp, let's take a moment to examine how the rookies have fared so far. (And for brevity, we left off seventh-round long snapper Julian Ashby, who doesn't have any competition in camp, and seems safely on the team.)
All eyes are on him every practice, which is a tough spot for a rookie. So far, he's been about what you'd expect from a rookie. He has some strong moments, particularly in the running game. But there have been struggles in the passing game. He's been beaten for a sack in just about every practice, which isn't great considering he's usually on the field each practice for only 15 or so passing plays in full-team drills. He tends to get beaten to the inside after oversetting, and it probably doesn't help that the Pats don't yet know who their left guard is next to him. Still, extrapolate those numbers, and that's allowing two sacks each NFL game if you throw the ball 30 times. Not great.
It's important to remember that Campbell is just 21 years old. The long-term view remains very bright. He was the fourth overall pick for a reason. A couple of weeks of practice shouldn't change the outlook. On the other hand, there have been enough struggles in pass protection that it's probably unwise to expect him to be a top-20 left tackle this season — which, again, is fine. He's a rookie. There will be ups and downs this season, and as long as he progresses going into next season, everything remains on track.
Outside of Stefon Diggs, there's probably not a more fun player to watch in training camp than Henderson. His speed would probably stand out on any team, but certainly sticks out on a Patriots roster lacking explosiveness. He hasn't been perfect, and there have been some drops, but it's been more good than bad for the running back.
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It seems like he'll start the season limited to a traditional third-down role with a focus on the passing game (his hands are impressive for a back) or on outside rushes where his speed is more of a factor. But with his explosiveness, it wouldn't shock me if he's getting more carries than Rhamondre Stevenson by the end of the season.
No rookie has been more up and down than Williams. In short, he's been exactly what his scouting report out of college was — a big-play machine whose hands let him down just a bit too much.
So far, Williams has had some of the biggest plays in camp, including a 40-yard touchdown from Drake Maye on a go route earlier this week. But he also has more drops than any other Pats receiver. If he can curb those, he could climb into that No. 3 receiver role. So far, however, there have just been too many mistakes like that to make him the no-doubt third option.
No rookie has improved his stock more than Wilson so far. While Campbell has been fine, Wilson is the rookie lineman teammates are raving about.
'Really f—ing good,' is how offensive lineman Caedan Wallace described him. 'The future is bright for him,' said Milton Williams.
Of note is that the team has settled on Wilson playing left guard in recent days. He bounced between there and center in the early days of camp, but after two botched snaps between Wilson and Maye, coaches have kept Wilson at left guard.
Ideally, that wouldn't be a long-term move. You'd like to think the coaching staff could develop Wilson as a center to the point where the botched snaps weren't happening. You'd hate to limit a guy's position just because of some mistakes in July.
Regardless, Wilson looks like one of the team's best five offensive linemen, and if the first two weeks of camp are any indication, he might be the steal of this 11-person draft class.
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This seemed like a surprising pick when the Pats used their first selection of Day 3 on a safety when they already had four decent options on the depth chart. But Woodson has impressed in the early days of training camp and likely carves out a depth role, while contributing early on special teams.
It's hard to glean too much from Farmer since he suffered an apparent injury on the first day of padded practices and missed Tuesday and Wednesday's sessions. He was limited at Thursday's walk-through, so it seems like he's trending in the right direction.
If Wilson has been the most impressive rookie on offense, Swinson has been the most impressive rookie on defense. It's a crowded depth chart ahead of him with Keion White, Harold Landry and K'Lavon Chaisson all having decent camps, but Swinson has been impressive. At the worst, he looks like a depth edge rusher this season while showing the upside to develop into a starter down the road.
The kicking competition is surprisingly fierce. On Tuesday, the Patriots let Parker Romo have all six field goal tries — and he made all six. On Wednesday, Borregales got all six field goal tries — and he made all six. This might come down to how they perform in the preseason games.
It's rare to say this about a seventh-round pick this early in camp, but Bryant is in the driver's seat for a spot on the 53-man roster. Keep in mind the Patriots likely want to carry a fourth offensive tackle behind Campbell, Morgan Moses and Demontrey Jacobs, and Vederian Lowe (Bryant's competition for that last spot) remains on the PUP list.
There's still plenty of time for Minor to make an impression. But so far, DJ James has been the cornerback taking advantage of the additional playing time brought about by injuries to Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis.
There have been three undrafted rookies of note so far. Wide receiver Efton Chism excels at beating man coverage from the slot, but the Pats have a bunch of guys who can play in the slot, so he may be destined for the practice squad to develop and provide depth in case Douglas gets hurt.
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Lan Larison has also gotten a decent amount of snaps with the first- and second-team offenses, a positive sign for the running back who also looks like the backup kick returner.
Finally, Gee Scott Jr. has been impressive in the battle for the No. 3 tight end job and likely enters preseason games as the favorite for that role.