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Patriots Tweets Of Note – OTAs Edition – Week 2

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Yesterday saw the second opportunity for media to attend Patriots OTAs, and there was plenty to review.

Let’s take a look at the Tweets of Note from Week 2 of OTA media availability.

Let’s start with the major news, Newton suffered an injury to his throwing hand during a drill. RapSheet reports that it’s not considered major, but, don’t expect to see much more of him until later this off-season.

This is a real chance for Mac Jones to get more starter reps in practice along with Stidham, which for me is a great thing, I was Jones to be involved in first-team reps at every available opportunity.

A blow no doubt for Cam, who was at OTAs for a reason, unlike many veterans, fighting for a spot on the team.

A solid day for Jarrett Stidham by all accounts, noted by most reporters who attended as the best QB on the field. As noted above, more reps coming Stidham’s way.

Bob Socci got some good footage of Josh McDaniels working closely with Jones. Noticeable on the right leg was a sleeve around the calf of Jones but this didn’t look to hinder him in this pass-rush drill. He showed good movement and the ability to get the ball out on the move in the pocket, obviously different when a 350lb lineman is running at you, but a closer look at his mechanics.

Numbers aren’t official, but Mark Daniels reported 17 players were absent from yesterday’s session, down from 25 the week before.

I still think there isn’t much to take from this as the workouts are still voluntary, one of the drafted rookies was missing in the bunch as Rhamondre Stevenson was absent for the second straight Friday session.

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Patriots Tweets Of Note – OTAs Edition – Week 1

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We’re back! Sorry for the lack of content since the Draft, my laptop died, and I’ve only just got it back from repairs, just in time for OTAs!

Before the official training camp gets underway later this summer, let’s take a quick dive into some of the main TON from the first week of OTAs.

Friend of the blog Mike D posted a great pano shot from a glorious day in Foxborough yesterday. One note from this specifically, you’ll see that the fields have been flipped horizontally, giving media a full sideline view.

Phil Perry chimed in with some info that all of us were waiting to hear, how Mac Jones looked. Now, I wasn’t expecting any QB1 calls, or the Jones blew anyone away, but, I’m just so excited to see how he gets on as the summer moves forward. Accurate throws are what he was known for in college, it’s something we should be seeing from the off, so good to hear he delivered yesterday.

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Report – Patriots 2021 leaked schedule

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(Staff Photo By Faith Ninivaggi/ Boston Herald/ Media News Group)

We knew the NFL wouldn’t get their chance to announce every team’s full schedule during prime time this evening, their plans spoiled as most of the schedule was leaked throughout this morning/afternoon.

So let’s take a look at the soon to be confirmed Patriots schedule-

The big ones off the bat are the return of Brady to Gillette Stadium and Belichick vs the number one pick Trevor Lawrence in early January.

This list has been confirmed by multiple reporters, but the official schedule will be confirmed tonight during the NFL’s schedule release on NFL Network.

Personally, I’m excited about the Titans game late in November, I’m planning on heading to Boston again for Thanksgiving! The season is getting closer! LFG

LB Harvey Langi returns to New England on a one-year deal

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Credit – NESN

A familiar face returns to the Patriots as Harvey Langi signs a one-year contract with the team ahead of the new season.

After going undrafted in the 2017 Draft, Langi joined the Patriots on a 3-year deal. Having earned a spot on the original 53-man roster, his rookie year was cut short following a serious car crash that left him with multiple injuries.

After recovering, Langi was released as part of the 2018 53-man roster cutdowns. Following a stint on the Jets’ practice squad, he was part of their roster during the 2020 season, making his first start in week nine and playing six games.

It’s nice to see Langi return for a second chance with the team, played well against the Patriots last season which I’m sure spurred some interest for Belichick. Not a roster lock by any means, but will offer some interesting competition in training camp.

Current LB Depth

(R) – Rookie
* – Last year of contract

Draft Review – Who are the eight new Patriots?

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Picture – OU Athletics

We are only two days removed from an exciting draft, one that saw the Patriots select eight rookies to join their team ahead of the 2021 NFL season. Already the discussion has moved to training camp and what positional battles lay ahead, so, let’s have a quick dive into the new recruits!

QB Mac Jones | Round 1 (15)

After weeks, if not months, of speculation about what the Patriots would do on the first night of the draft, they ended up staying with their given pick at 15, and selecting Mac Jones out of Alabama.

Jones, who originally committed to the University of Kentucky, opted to instead enroll with Alabama and redshirted his first season in 2017. After Tua Tagovailoa got injured in 2018 and eventually declared for the 2020 Draft, Jones took over as the starter for the remainder of his collegiate career in Alabama.

I was intrigued by Jones heading into this year’s Draft, in his final college season, he set the NCAA record for pass accuracy (77.4%) and led the Crimson Tide to the CFB National Championship, you can’t teach winning.

In the days prior to the first round, Jones was considered the 49ers top pick at number three, but, as it turned out, they had other ideas as Trey Lance was selected after Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson. Jones’ fall didn’t last past 15 as the Patriots selected a first-round quarterback for the first time since taking Drew Bledsoe in 1993.

Observations:
Accurate – Set the NCAA record for passing accuracy last season, something which is a top priority for signal-callers in the NFL.

Winner – Regardless of the juggernaut team around him, Jones still had to do the business, and he did last year, leading Alabama to Nick Saban’s seventh National Championship.

Competitiveness – Highly competitive and spoke of how he always wants to win in whatever he does. Being competitive in a regime under Nick Saban should translate well to a Belichick regime here in New England.

DT Christian Barmore | Round 2 (38)

Another Crimson Tide alum, Barmore was acquired by the Patriots following a trade with the Bengals to move up in the second round.

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Patriots add defensive support on night two of the Draft

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Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports

Night two didn’t bring any additions to the receiving group like many of us, including myself, may have hoped for. But, the Patriots managed to get consensus top defensive tackle in the entire draft, along with an intriguing edge rusher.

Pick 38 – DT Christian Barmore

A trade-up with the Bengals early on last night gave the Patriots the chance to land their second-straight Alabama prospect of the draft. Christian Barmore is a big, disruptive tackle who was at the top of his position in this years class.

Noel wrote about Barmore in his pre-draft DT primer – “Explosive, bully to blockers, finds the ball, quick, impressive production within the SEC. Needs to be better conditioned. Versatile. The best pass-rushing DT in the draft class. Can struggle in the run game.”

Table by CFB Sports-Reference

Eight sacks last season from the DT position in the SEC is impressive, questions will be about how he can support the run defense, something which the Patriots struggled with last season.

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Patriots pick QB Mac Jones in the first round of 2021 Draft

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VIA: MARK J. REBILAS-USA TODAY SPORTS

The New England Patriots have selected a quarterback in the first round of an NFL Draft for the first time since they took Drew Bledsoe in 1993. Mac Jones, the former CFB National Champion with Alabama is heading to New England.

Lawrence, Wilson, and Lance went 1,2,3, then Justin Fields, who many thought could end up in New England was taken by the Bears after they gave up a haul of picks to move up to Pick 11.

Jones talking on the post draft video conference call for Patriots.com

In my breakdown of the expert mock drafts earlier this week, I said “Now, taking him (Jones) at 15, if the team loves him, I’m fine with, but I don’t want them to give up their future capital for Jones.” – This is exactly how things panned out, the Patriots were patient and managed to get their QB for the future.

I for one am pretty excited by this, now Jones wasn’t the top QB on my list, but the team has some belief in him, and that goes a long way with me, I just want to see how he progresses in camp now.

The Belichick-Saban connection continues as Schefter notes, that relationship will have played a huge part in this pick, remember, the Patriots had a chance to take Jordan Love last year whilst being in the same QB situation, but didn’t. They could have passed on Jones here, but they clearly like him enough to use their 15th pick.