The New England Patriots Patriots won their second preseason on Saturday, beating the Vikings 20-12 at Minnesota’s U.S. Bank Stadium. Even though most of the Vikings’ starters did not see the field after a competitive set of joint practices earlier in the week, a significant portion of the Patriots’ top players on both sides of the ball got a handful of snaps in.
As a result, there were quite a few lessons to learn from the game. Here are a few that caught our eye.
The Patriots showed us that…
…you shouldn’t sleep on Mack Hollins: There has been a lot of discussion about Mack Hollins this week, and whether or not he would be deserving a spot on the roster. On Saturday, Hollins answered those concerns by showing his importance to the team: playing six snaps — all of them as a perimeter target with the top offense — he caught three passes for 38 yards from Drake Maye.
The offseason pickup made a nice catch on a high pass over the middle, and made another one on the sideline after Maye couldn’t find anyone open. Devin McCourty was talking on the broadcast about his importance to the young guys in the receiving room as well. All of this adds up to Hollins being a valuable piece of the Patriots’ offensive puzzle this year.
He might not end up putting eye-opening numbers, but he is going to be a reliable target for Drake Maye and a culture-setter in the locker room.
…TreVeyon Henderson should be put in bubble wrap: The Patriots started their preseason off with a bang when Henderson brought the opening kickoff back for a touchdown last week against the Washington Commanders. He has shown his speed before, but he showed his toughness on Saturday, with a fantastic, 8-yard touchdown run.
He may not be an every-down back yet, but it’s clear that he’s going to have a big impact on the Patriots offense. Honestly, I would put him in bubble wrap for the rest of the preseason. We’ve seen enough.
…Drake Maye doesn’t need to light the world on fire: Drake Maye started the game throwing the ball a little high. It didn’t hurt him on a throw over the middle to Mack Hollins, but it nearly resulted in an interception on a miss to DeMario Douglas (a player with a catch radius that is virtually nonexistent). Maye settled down after that and made some nice throws, the best completion being the aforementioned sideline throw to Hollins after scrambling when no one was open.
His best throw overall, however, might have been incomplete: he put the ball perfectly between a few defenders, but TreVeyon Henderson was unable to come up with what would have been a sensational one-handed catch. In total, he ended his day going 4-for-7 for 46 yards.
We may have seen the last of Maye this preseason. I think he’s primed for a big season after his performance in camp — even though he may not have lit the world on fire on Saturday.
…Efton Chism should be on the team: The receivers have been talked about a lot, especially those toward the bottom of the depth chart — including one Mr. Efton Chism. The undrafted rookie had another stellar game on Saturday and has played his way into what looks like will be a roster spot. Not sure how much he will actually end up playing this year, but he keeps getting open, catching the ball, and making plays after the catch when he’s out there. I don’t see a way that he’s not on the roster at the start of the season.
…the receiver competition is intense: Assuming that the Patriots feel good about Chism, that could mean that one more roster spot is available for a receiver. The Patriots have a bunch of guys fighting for that last spot.
John Jiles had a nice game on Saturday, gaining 31 yards on five touches. Jeremiah Webb has also made the most of his opportunities, with a 59-yard kickoff return at the end of the first half as his standout play. The two might both end up on the practice squad.
Meanwhile, I had thought Javon Baker would be a lock for the team with the amount of special teams that he plays, but he hasn’t been able to positively contribute at the receiver position when given the opportunity. Yes, Joshua Dobbs missed him on a honey hole pass where Baker was open, but he had also two drops, and had a false start penalty. There’s a chance that Baker makes the team primarily as a special teams player, but I don’t see how you could trust him to play offense right now.
Ja’Lynn Polk and Kendrick Bourne have not been healthy, and were both trending in the wrong direction before they got hurt as well. I can’t see either of them making the team.
Of course, the apparent head injury suffered by Kyle Williams might only complicate matters.
…the offensive line is still in flux: The Patriots put Ben Brown at left guard on Thursday over rookie Jared Wilson, and he struggled. They did it again on Saturday, and he looked pretty good. Garrett Bradbury remained in at center and had some really good plays, and some very rough ones. It’s going to be up and down from Bradbury, but he has experience and is a solid run blocker, so he might end up being the starting center after all.
Wilson ended up going in at left guard with the backups, and also worked at center later as well. He looked good at both positions, so maybe he can earn that starting role back, but we’ll see. Not sure what happened in the last week, but they obviously weren’t happy with what they were getting from Wilson.
Rookie Marcus Bryant looked solid again as the starting right tackle in place of Morgan Moses, and then later at left tackle with the backups. Vederian Lowe played with the backups at right tackle and looked better than DeMontrey Jacobs did on the left side. Even Cole Strange had some nice plays manning all three interior spots with the backups.
It was a pretty solid day for the offensive line in general. They may not have played against a whole lot of starters, but this was still an attacking defense coached by Brian Flores. It wasn’t perfect, and there will still be things to correct, but it was a good performance all around.
…Anfernee Jennings makes a serious roster push: One of the Patriots’ most reliable defenders of the last few years, Anfernee Jennings looks like he may not be a scheme fit under new head coach Mike Vrabel and coordinator Terrell Williams; he has played deep into both preseason games so far. On Saturday, he did the best he could to make a case for himself to be on this roster after all, registering three sacks.
Truman Jones and Elijah Ponder have generated some buzz, but they haven’t made a ton of plays on the field. Jennings could find his way onto the Patriots’ roster this year, and his performance on Saturday could be a reason for it.
…safety questions remain: Kyle Dugger has been noticeably passed on the depth chart by multiple players. It remains to be seen how it shakes out before the season, but there’s a chance that Dugger does indeed end up on the outside looking in. Rookie Craig Woodson has been one of the top options, and Dell Pettus and Marcus Epps have both played well when given an opportunity.
Dugger played OK when he was out there on Saturday, which was to the very end of the game, but it would not surprise me if they were looking to try to move on from him this year, or, if they decide to use him more like a linebacker. He is still fine near the line of scrimmage, but he has struggled in coverage and doesn’t seem to have the same explosiveness that he used to have.
…the kicker battle is far from over: The Patriots have two kickers that have been solid all camp, and they have yet to make a decision about who is going to end up getting the job. If everything was even, I think Parker Romo would have the edge right now, but Andy Borregales is a rookie draft pick, so he might be ahead in the team’s eyes.
Borregales missed a 57-yard field goal attempt on Saturday, and then hit a 51-yarder later in the game. The 57-yarder was a little strange, because Borregales was late getting out onto the field, so there may have been a miscommunication that led to that, and he rushed his routine to get the kick off in time. Having to choose between two solid options is a good problem to have, and, the hope is that the guy who doesn’t make the team ends up on the practice squad.
…they need to turn the page quickly: The Patriots have a quick turnaround with a game on Thursday against the New York Giants next week. That could mean that the majority of roster locks won’t even touch the field, and, with the Giants also playing on Saturday, there might not be a good time for anyone to prove themselves because of the lack of talent on the other side.
This is a unique issue to this year, and could end some of the tighter competitions a little earlier than expected. Guys that made plays this week should have the advantage over guys who didn’t, since next week won’t mean as much. With cutdown day coming a week from Tuesday, there’s not much time left for players to make their case for a roster spot.