Patriots Rookie Camp Notes (5/13/24)

The New England Patriots concluded their rookie mini-camp tryouts today and made some transactions. The Patriots signed undrafted rookie free agent running back Terrell Jennings out of Florida A & M, offensive guard Ryan Johnson of Youngstown State, linebacker Jay Person from Chattanooga University and international rugby player Jotham Russell who's going to learn how to play defensive end. They also cut veteran running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, but let's take a look at who got signed from the rookie camp tryouts.

                                                             Happy fellas

Jennings had 120 carries for 674 yards and nine rushing touchdowns for the Rattlers in 2023 along with 7 receptions for 60 yards. The Rattlers themselves capped off a hell of season in D-1A going 12-1 and Jennings was a big part of it. With the departure of Ezekiel Elliott back to Dallas, Rhamondre Stevenson is going to need some help in the running game. Maybe Jennings can show some promise.

                                         Patriots can always use depth at running back

Ryan Johnson was a guard for the Youngstown State Penguins who went 8-5 in the D-1A this season. He's 6'6, 300 pounds and most importantly, started all 13 games for the Penguins this season. The NFL is all about attrition and injuries, Bill Belichick stressed "next man up" for years so its good to have a depth piece that can stay on the field. Whether or not he's good enough to make the team remains to be seen.

                                                        From undrafted to New England

Jay Person is the elder statesman as he played his freshman year back in 2018 at Appalachian State before coming to the Chattanooga Mocs. He led the Mocs with 9.5 last year as an edge rusher but went undrafted due to age and concerns that he played on a 7-4 team in D-1A. Still, to be named conference player of the year twice is a good thing even if its against inferior competition. Doesn't mean he can't play, only that competition is going to be MUCH tougher come training camp.

                                                  Better bring your A-Game, Person

Lastly the Patriots are trying out Australian rugby player Jotham Russell. Rugby is justtttt a bit different than American football so it'll be interesting to see how he'll do in pads and a helmet. The good news is he's technically not on the 90 man roster because he's part of the International Player Pathway program so if he's good, he'll stay. If not, oh well.

                                                              Welcome to America, Russell

The only casualty is the Patriots cut veteran running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn. Vaughn was signed to the Practice Squad back in December and was part of Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers that won Superbowl 55. The Patriots feel that Terrell Jennings might be a better option come training camp. If Vaughn goes on to have a good season somewhere else, good on him.

                                                                  Bye bye Vaughn

With the conclusion of the mini-camp tryouts, they liked what they saw in those four players. A lot of those guys probably will never play football professionally, but some of them might catch on in the United Football League, Canadian Football League or the Arena League, while some of them might actually play in the NFL. Time will tell for all of them.

                                                                  Great camp guys

Patriots Sign 3 Draft Picks, Nine Rookie Free Agents (5/10/24)

The New England Patriots signed three of their draft choices today when sixth round picks Marcellas Dial and Joe Milton signed, as well as 7th round pick Jahiem Bell. We'll be seeing them come mini-camp in June. They also signed eight rookie free agents.

                                                           Dial is ready to roll

So who did the Patriots sign that went undrafted? First up is running back DeShaun Fenwick out of Oregon State. He played three years at South Carolina before transferring to Oregon State where he rushed 96 times for 515 yards.

                                                             DeShaun Fenwick

Next up is cornerback Kaleb Ford-Dement out of Texas State University. Now in the era of college free agency, Ford went all over the place from Kilgore College to Old Dominion to Washington State and finally Texas State. In 11 games started with Texas State he had 3 picks and 32 tackles.

                                                            Kaleb Ford-Dement

The Patriots also signed UTEP offensive tackle Zuri Henry. He spent 6 years at UTEP and started 11 games last year for the Miners. Offensive line depth is never a bad thing....as long as he doesn't suck.

                                                               Zuri Henry

New England then signed Georgia State linebacker Jontrey Hunter. Hunter played 6 years with GS and was All-Sun Belt Conference in 2023 with 96 tackles last year.

                                                       Jontrey Hunter

The Patriots also signed Arkansas defensive end John Morgan after he spent 5 years with Pittsburgh before signing with Arkansas prior to 2023. He had a tough time getting on the field for the Razorbacks despite going 4-8 last year due to not being able to crack the depth chart. He did get 15 tackles when he did play though.

                                                        John Morgan

The youngest of the bunch signed was Troy University safety Dell Pettus. Now this was an interesting signing because Pettus started 61 consecutive games for the Trojans. Last year the Trojans went 11-3 and won the Sun Belt Championship game over Appalachian State before losing the Birmingham Bowl to Duke.

                                                          Dell Pettus

The biggest "name" the Patriots signed was LSU center Charles Turner. He was the starting center for last year's 10-3 Tigers team blocking for Washington Commanders first round pick Jayden Daniels. He started 25 total games for the Tigers including the ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Wisconsin. One of the reasons he went undrafted was he lacks muscle mass, which can be corrected if he spent enough time in the weight room.

                                                       Charles Turner

The Patriots also signed Alabama State cornerback Mikey Victor. He bounced around from Ventura to UNLV before settling on Alabama State the last two years.  He had 55 tackles and 3 picks for the Hornets as well.

                                                          Mikey Victor

Last but not least is the Patriots signed Joe Milton's tight end at Tennessee University, Jacob Warren. Warren caught 16 balls for 191 yards and four touchdowns last year for the Vols as they went 9-4 and shut out Iowa 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl. He had 53 total receptions for 607 yards and eight touchdowns.

                                                            Jacob Warren

So there's most of your rookie class heading into June's mini-camp and July's training camp. There's going to be 90 bodies there and there's only going to be 53 at the end. One of the good things about former head coach Bill Bellichick was finding talent in rookie free agents. Ben-Jarvis Green Ellis, Malcolm Butler, Jakobi Meyers and more all contributed despite not being drafted. Now can new head coach Jerrod Mayo and personnel director Eliot Wolf score in this rookie free agent class? That remains to be seen. A lot of guys go undrafted because they played in smaller schools like Victor, Hunter and Pettus while others didn't get the press their teammates got like Warren and Turner. Doesn't mean they won't be able to crack the roster but it wouldn't be out of the ordinary if they didn't. Again, there's only going to be 53 guys left at the end of Training Camp and who knows what is going to get signed before, during and after. Still, some of these guys may not have ever played football again if they didn't get signed so at least they made it this far. 

Patriots Select Five Players on Day 3 (4/27/24)

With the 103rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected Texas A & M offensive guard Layden Robinson. Just like Caedan Wallace for Penn State, Robinson only allowed one sack for the Aggies all season in their first year in the SEC. He was second team all-ACC in 2021 and last season. If Jerrod Mayo and Eliot Wolf didn't think Cole Strange was good enough, they might have drafted his replacement. Or at very least he could be a good backup.

                                                       Good luck to Robinson

With the 110th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft they got from the Los Angeles Chargers, the New England Patriots selected Central Florida wide receiver Javon Baker. He started in Alabama but transferred to UCF. He had 52 receptions for 1,139 yards and 7 touchdowns in the 2023 season. He had a bunch of drops but the Patriots are baking on his receptions being his contribution to this fall's team.

                                                Does he know any of these plays?

With the 180th pick in the draft, the Patriots selected South Carolina cornerback Marcellas Dial. Dial knocked down 31 passes and picked off three balls with the Gamecocks also winning the Overcoming Adversity Award. The Patriots need insurance in case Christian Gonzalez gets hurt again and someone like this could play on special teams as well.

                                                              Possible nickel corner

With the 193rd pick in the draft, as in the pick they got in the trade for Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Patriots selected quarterback Joe Milton from Tennessee University. He has a cannon arm and he's a big guy at 6 foot 5 but spent six years at college. He spent 3 years at Michigan going 2-3 as a starter than transferred to Tennessee where he was Orange Bowl MVP in 2022. Mel Kiper says he's got the strongest arm in the draft so how did he fall so far? We're going to have a quarterback controversy as now they have Maye, Brissett, Zappe and Milton. That's the good kind of competition where they'll be playing for their lives. In essence the Patriots traded Mac Jones for Joe Milton.

                                                      Milton is a big dude

The final Patriots pick in the 7th round came at 232 and they selected Tight End Jaheim Bell out of Florida State. He is a dual threat as a receiver and a runner for South Carolina before he transferred to FSU. He had 95 receptions for 1,260 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns while picking up 84 carries, 303 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The Patriots needed a tight end to go with Hunter Henry and hopefully he'll be useful.

                                                         Can catch and run

All in all the Patriots addressed their needs and got some much needed depth. Robinson and Baker will definitely give the established receivers and lineman some competition and Bailey Zappe's days might be numbered with Joe Milton in camp. Who knows what Bell is capable off but we won't know for real until August. Dial is the wild card of the group, he may be good but he may not. Unless the Patriots pick up some free agents out of nowhere during training camp, they're going to be a young team next year. If Mayo can keep the defense relatively close to what it was last year, with an improved offense at least the Patriots will be watchable this coming fall.

Patriots Trade Down, Take Polk & Wallace (4/26/24)

With the 34th pick in the NFL Draft the New England Patriots selected...nobody! As usual they traded down with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers got pick 34 and the Patriots 5th rounder 137 overall and the Patriots got pick 37 and pick 110 overall in the fourth round. The Chargers selected Ladd McConkey with the 34th pick. The Patriots ended up selecting Ja'Lynn Polk out of Washington University. Polk played 10 games for Texas Tech in 2020 then played the last three years for the Huskies. He has blazing speed and can be a deep threat as long as he can create separation at the pro level. Drake Maye needed some help at receiver and theoretically he just got it.

                                                 Drake Maye has a deep threat in Polk

The rumor is the Minnesota Vikings would have traded the 11th and 23rd overall picks and a 2025 first for the third overall pick....but Eliot Wolf said no. The other rumor was the New York Giants would have traded the 6th overall pick with a 2025 first rounder for the third pick. The Giants offer was good but not exactly worth giving up a potential star quarterback. Not taking the Minnesota offer is a huge dice roll. They may not get a generational quarterback with the 11th and 23rd, but they might have gotten a new blind side tackle and a better receiver than Polk. That 2025 pick could be used in a package with their own to trade up for a quarterback next year. Oh well.

With the 68th pick in the draft the Patriots selected Penn State offensive tackle Caeden Wallace. He was a right tackle for the Nittany Lions who finished 10-3 on the season. Scouts say he only allowed one sack in 359 drop backs so he might be a decent pass blocker. That's wonderful but they still need a left tackle to protect Drake Maye or Jacoby Brissett.

                                                        The Patriots' new right tackle

All in all in Day 2 of the draft the Patriots subtracted their fifth round pick but selected a receiver and a tackle while adding a fourth round pick for tomorrow. The Patriots weakness all season was offense and they've taken a receiver, a quarterback and a tackle to help rectify that. Tomorrow's picks are going to be depth pieces mostly so they had to strike while they still could. Whether or not these guys will be good will remain to be seen, but its a start.

Patriots Draft Drake Maye 3rd Overall (4/25/24)

With the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft the New England Patriots select....Drake Maye, quarterback from North Carolina. After months of speculation, the Patriots ended up with arguably one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the draft.

                                                            Welcome to New England

Maye was ACC player of the year for the 2022 UNC Tar Heels as they made it to the ACC Championship Game. In 2023, two of his top receivers graduated so his numbers went down a little bit. At 6'4 and 230 he's got the size to make it in the league and he's a bit more mobile than Mac Jones.

                                                                Maye at UNC

Now that the Patriots have a quarterback prospect, it's up to Eliot Wolf to surround Maye with talent in this draft. Tomorrow night they need at least one receiver and one offensive lineman to help Maye out. As bad as Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe played last year, they had no receivers to throw to and good lineman to protect them. The rumor is that the Patriots might shop the 34th pick for Brandon Aiyuk in San Francisco. Probably not a good idea but you never know what the Patriots are going to do.

                                                           Aiyuk to the Patriots?

98.5 and their fans are already screaming that Maye has terrible footwork and JJ McCarthy was a better pick. Also some fans want Maye to sit for the full year and let Jacoby Brissett play. That can be argued all day but what can't be argued is the Patriots now have one of the top quarterbacks available. Tomorrow night the 2nd and 3rd rounds will decide if Maye has fellow rookies to play with or someone like Aiyuk. Time will tell.

                                            "Yeah we drafted Maye, got a problem with it?"

Patriots Make Selections on Day 2 of NFL Draft (4/30/06)

On the second day of the NFL Draft, the Patriots once again shored up their depth chart. Using the pick they got from Detroit last year, they selected Tulsa tight end Garrett Mills in the fourth round 106th overall. Mills actually set an NCAA record with 87 catches for 1,235 receiving yards, the most ever by a tight end in college history. He was C-America MVP in Tulsa's victory over Central Florida. Looks like he'll be doing battle with David Thomas for the third tight end spot behind Daniel Graham and Ben Watson. Plus you never know who will get hurt or totally sucks. Good luck to Mills in the battle.

                                                      106th overall - Garrett Mills

With their own fourth round pick, the Patriots drafted their replacement for Adam Vinatieri when they selected Memphis University kicker Stephen Gostkowski 118th overall. He was a perfect 35 for 35 on extra points his senior year and was 22 for 25 on field goals. The word on him is he can kick it a mile but not with the greatest accuracy. He has HUGE shoes to fill with Vinatieri leaving but at least he's got a stronger leg. That's good for something....right?

                                                    118th overall - Stephen Gostkowski

Needing a replacement for the departed offensive tackle Tom Ashworth, the Patriots used their fifth round pick they got from the Oakland Raiders last year to select California offensive tackle Ryan O'Callaghan 136th overall. Ryan was a stud for the Bears, winning the Morris Trophy for most outstanding PAC offensive lineman. If Nick Kaczur struggles or gets hurt, now they have someone else to fall back on....if he doesn't get hurt either.

                                                    136th overall - Ryan O'Callaghan

The Patriots traded their fifth round pick to the Cleveland Browns. The Brown selected Georgia cornerback DeMario Minter 152nd overall. The Patriots sixth round selection ended up being Florida defensive end Jeremy Mincey. Mincey was courted by the Gators but he didn't have good enough grades to attend, so he spent two years playing for Butler County CC before finally transferring to Florida. Under Ron Zook he racked up 51 tackles and a pick in 2004 then thrived under Urban Meyer in 2005. He was second team All-SEC with 62 tackles and 10.5 sacks. So how'd he fall this far in the draft? As mentioned earlier, he had academic struggles in high school and the reputation followed him. Still, talent wise the SEC is loaded and to be named to the second all-star team is nothing to sneeze at. If anything he'd be decent depth behind Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour.

                                                   191st overall - Jeremy Mincey

With their final pick in the seventh round, the Patriots selected Baylor safety Willie Andrews 229th overall. Talent wise, Andrews was damn good at Baylor. He was two time All-Big 12 in 2004 and 2005 and had one of the fastest combine sprints. So why did he fall this far? In 2002 he was jailed for 30 days for violating probation on a prior arrest. He has a reputation of off field troubles so a lot of teams don't need that headache. The Patriots are taking a flier on him hoping he's flying straight. Hopefully he can cash in on this chance. If this works out, its a genius move by head coach Bill Belichick, if not, just another failed seventh round pick.

                                                             229th overall - Willie Andrews

Not much to say about these picks apart from the Patriots have a new kicker in Gostkowski and possible O'Line depth with O'Callaghan. Andrews, Mills and Mincey are crapshots with Andrews having talent just personal issues. Not every pick works out but not every one busts out either. We'll find out come training camp if they can play or not.

Patriots Take Maroney, Jackson Thomas on Day 1 of NFL Draft (4/29/06)

The 2006 NFL Draft kicked off with the Houston Texans taking North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams who set the school record for sacks while he was with the Wolfpack. The New Orleans Saints took current Heisman Trophy winning running back Reggie Bush out of USC. The Tennessee Titans took Texas quarterback Vince Young third overall and the Green Bay Packers took Ohio State linebacker AJ Hawk fifth overall. The New England Patriots shocked the world when they took Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney 21st overall. Maroney was part of the two headed rushing attack with the Gophers with current Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber. He rushed for over 1,000 yards three years in a row and earned All-Big 10 honors his junior & senior seasons. Corey Dillon had a down season in 2005 and Maroney could definitely pull off the two headed monster attack with him like he did with Barber. The curious part was he was taken over Memphis star runner DeAngelo Williams (drafted by Carolina) and LSU runner Joseph Addai (taken by Indianapolis). Even though injuries derailed the Patriots last year, getting younger at the running back spot is definitely a good move to make....if they picked the right guy.

                                                    21st overall - Laurence Maroney

The Patriots then made a bold move when they traded their second and third round picks to the Green Bay Packers to move up in the draft to take Florida wide receiver Chad Jackson 36th overall. Jackson thrived under Gators coach Urban Meyer in 2005, leading the SEC in receptions and Florida to a 9-3 record with a victory over Iowa in the Outback Bowl. Jackson was first team All-ACC with 88 catches for 900 yards and 9 touchdowns. He declared for the draft after his junior year and the Patriots moved up to get him. Belichick is convinced he's a stud and they needed to replace David Givens who shuffled off to Tennessee. Having him and Deion Branch might be the tonic Tom Brady needs to lead the team back to the Superbowl...if it all works out.

                                                   36th overall - Chad Jackson

With the pick traded to them by the Patriots, the Packers took wide receiver Greg Jennings out of Western Michigan 52nd overall. With the 3rd round pick they got from the Patriots, the Packers took Louisville center Jason Spitz 75th overall. With their own third round pick, the Patriots selected Texas Longhorns tight end David Thomas. Thomas was an integral part of the Longhorns offense under quarterback Vince Young and their national championship victory over USC. He was a two time All-Big 12 and caught 10 passes for 88 yards in the national title game. The departure of Christian Fauria necessitated another tight end and this seems like a great choice. If he could thrive under Vince Young, now he's got Tom Brady to work with. 

                                                       86th overall - David Thomas

Just like that the Patriots shored up offensive positions with a tight end, running back and receiver. Their defense was as good as anyone but the injuries and reliance on role players finally came back to haunt the Patriots against the Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round. Loading up with younger, faster talent should make the Patriots contenders again this coming season....in theory anyway.