So long, summer.
The Patriots wrapped up training camp and the preseason this week feeling a bit hobbled, but a lot better.
Players will soon report for two more practices that lead up to Tuesday’s 53-man roster deadline, but most of the front office’s decisions about who will be cut, traded or kept have already been made. The hay, as they say, is in the barn.
Before we look ahead to the regular season, here’s one last look back at the Patriots’ first summer under coach Mike Vrabel.
Behold, the Herald’s training camp awards for 2025:
MVP: RB TreVeyon Henderson
Surprise!
The second-round rookie immediately established himself as the Patriots’ most dangerous weapon, then slowly entered the conversation for best offensive player. Henderson’s combination of long speed, instant acceleration and soft hands will make him a focal point of Josh McDaniels’ offense this season. From taking handoffs to splitting out wide and running receiver routes, Henderson will see plenty of touches.
And when he does, Henderson will be a threat to score every time. He reportedly blew the Vikings away during two joint practices last week in Minnesota, where he scored a 70-yard touchdown to cap a two-minute drill. Without him, the Patriots’ offense doesn’t make plays like that. With him, they’re more explosive, versatile and dangerous.
That’s an MVP.
Best Offensive Player: WR DeMario Douglas
If not Henderson, Douglas is the easy answer here.
He saw the most targets in team drills, caught more passes from Drake Maye than anyone else and expanded his route tree. The coaching staff seems intent on weaponizing him as more than a high-volume slot receiver, sending him on deep crosses and vertical routes throughout camp. Douglas also earned the staff’s trust by deepening his commitment this offseason to learning the playbook and spending more time in the facility.
Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas hauls in a pass during a practice in Foxboro. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas hauls in a pass during a practice in Foxboro. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
“Great energy, great demeanor, very coachable. One of our offseason award winners,” Vrabel said earlier this summer. “So, he obviously worked extremely hard, was here every day, ready to learn, ready to earn a role. I love being around Pop. He’s got great energy and he’s got a lot of respect from everybody around here.”
Whether all his offseason work translates to Sundays remains to be seen, but for now, nobody was better in training camp than No. 3.
Best Defensive Player: OLB K’Lavon Chaisson
There’s a reason Chaisson earned a promotion from rotational pass rusher to full-time starter defense late in training camp. Several, actually.
He finished with the most sacks of any defender in team periods. He routinely triumphed in 1-on-1 pass rush drills. He fortified his run defense, and set a fierce edge in preseason. And most of all, Chaisson continued to improve, while Keion White fizzled after his own white-hot start to camp and lost his job.
LInebacker K'Lavon Chaisson, left, of the New England Patriots at a July 25 practice in Foxboro. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
LInebacker K'Lavon Chaisson, left, of the New England Patriots at a July 25 practice in Foxboro. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Chaisson even had outside linebackers coach Mike Smith suggesting the team may have struck gold when it signed him to a one-year flier contract in free agency.
“The thing about KC is he’s smart. He’s a vet. He’s seen it. Loves the game of football. The way he works, the way he prepares, he’s one of these guys that you talk about stuff, and he gets it pretty quick,” Smith said. “A lot of these guys you get in free agency on one-year deals, and they’ve got something to prove. I think he’s got a chip on his shoulder, and he’s got something to prove.
“Getting a home and being somewhere is a big thing for him. He’s playing well.”
With Christian Gonzalez sidelined for the last three weeks, this was an easy call. Chaisson isn’t the most talented player on the Patriots’ defense — and maybe not even their defensive front — but he was unquestionably the most productive and consistent. The former first-round pick may now finally be ready to live up to his draft status.
Best Rookie: S Craig Woodson
Setting aside Henderson here, Woodson earned this title by earning a starting job.
The 24-year-old Cal product replaced Kyle Dugger in the starting lineup by demonstrating as much versatility as any player in position room. Woodson performed well enough as a single-high defender, man-to-man defender and communicator in the back end. Like Chaisson, his snaps with the starting defense were sparse at first.
But by the end, he became a staple of Vrabel’s defense.
New England Patriots safety Craig Woodson at the team's training camp on Wednesday, July 23 in Foxboro. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots safety Craig Woodson at the team's training camp on Wednesday, July 23 in Foxboro. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
“He keeps, I think, getting better,” Vrabel said. “I think he keeps learning, each day, some of the different techniques that maybe he didn’t use as much at Cal. I’ve seen him tackle. I think the special teams stuff was good. I think throwing himself in there into the fire on some of the special teams stuff was good to see. So, (we’ll) continue to see where he’s at just from his physicality, and kind of go from there.”
Most improved: DL Khyris Tonga
Remember the name.
Tonga, a fifth-year journeyman long regarded as nothing more than a run-stuffer, could start a handful of games this season. He emerged as one of the Patriots’ most reliable defenders, so much so he’s taken the field alongside star defensive tackles Milton Williams and Christian Barmore in the starting defense. All that beef should boost the Patriots’ run defense, but it’s Tonga’s newly tapped pass-rushing potential that prompted his award here.
Tonga finished in the top five for most would-be sacks recorded in team periods, and regularly handled starting offensive linemen – including center Garrett Bradbury and left guard Jared Wilson – in individual pass rush drills. So long as he’s next to Barmore and Williams on the field, Tonga should see plenty of more 1-on-1 opportunities and easily clear his single-season career high of two QB hits and a half-sack.
“’For me to come in and be next to Milton and Barmore makes my job so much easier,” Tonga said earlier this month. “(Opposing offenses) got to pick their choice between Barmore and Milton (to double team) and I’m good with that.”
Biggest disappointment: S Kyle Dugger
Another clear-cut choice.
Dugger slipped down the depth chart this summer, from surefire starter to occasional second-teamer to a fully entrenched member of the Patriots’ scout team. The 29-year-old seems to have lost his explosion after playing on a high ankle sprain for three months last season. Dugger spent all spring and early parts of the summer recovering, then arrived as a full participant at training camp.
It’s not just the physical traits, but Dugger also seems to be struggling finding a home in the Patriots’ new defensive scheme. This is what Vrabel had to say more than a week ago about what Dugger must do to take back his first-team reps: “I think just making sure that he’s where he needs to be and understanding the coverage concepts and everything we do. Keep working and keep progressing.”
Two and a half weeks ago, Dugger admitted he’s taken slowly to the new defense, which has tasked him with learning new techniques and fulfilling assignments that weren’t as common under Bill Belichick and then Jerod Mayo.
“Obviously, there’s some differences in the system,” Dugger said on Aug. 6. “So that’s going to be there. There’s always stuff to work on. But there are some new things, if I’m being honest, that I have to get used to and learn how to do. So that’s definitely there with the new system.
“We’ve just got to do our job the same. We’ve got to lock it up and be tight. Be on the same page. So it really doesn’t matter or change that much. We’ve got to make sure we’re all up, and we’re supposed to be doing our job to help them out.”
Quote of the Week
“Watching him coming out, because he was a guy that nobody was looking at, if you look at his athletic ability, it’s off the charts. He’s a big rusher. He moves great in space. He’s not scared to go put his face right down the middle if you saw him in game. But he’s got this very rare ability of picking up things quickly and looking like he’s done it from Day 1. It’s just remarkable. That is another (player) that has an extremely bright future. Probably one of the best (undrafted) free agent pickups that I’ve ever seen.” — Patriots outside linebackers coach Mike Smith on undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder