The Patriots concluded their offseason program last Thursday, which resulted in five open practices (one being a walkthrough) across organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. While no jobs are won or lost in the spring, several players still caught the eye.
Here’s who stood out for better, or worse, across the last few weeks.
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Winners
QB Drake Maye: Entering his second season in Josh McDaniels’ system, Maye looked to be in complete command of the offense. The Patriots spent the spring challenging him mentally, often sending him to the line of scrimmage without a play call and asking him to get the offense into the right look. The results followed. The 23-year-old was particularly sharp during the final two competitive minicamp practices — where all the work came in the red zone.
WR A.J. Brown: The Pro Bowl receiver was as advertised upon his arrival. He made an immediate impact and produced highlight-reel plays on both days of minicamp — including a high-point back-shoulder fade and an impressive adjustment in the end zone to haul in touchdowns from Maye. Brown also showed his ability to win on slants and other routes along the outside, while his role should only continue to expand as he becomes more comfortable in the offense.
ED Elijah Ponder and ED Bradyn Swinson: The Patriots could use one of their second-year edge rushers to take a step forward in 2026. While it was Ponder who lined up opposite Dre’Mont Jones with the top unit, both he and Swinson received high praise from head coach Mike Vrabel and outside linebackers coach Mike Smith for their work this spring.
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“I think maybe confidence of, ‘I am actually here, I am actually doing this again. I didn’t go through the post draft process, and I know what I am comfortable with what the practices are going to be and the meetings,’” Vrabel said of Ponder’s growth. “Young players that work hard and have a full offseason to train, sometimes that’s a great window of opportunity for a guy that is 22, 23 years old, to make some significant improvement in their speed, in their strength, explosion. So, hopefully that is what we will see.
“I would include Bradyn Swinson. I think those two are kind of in the same category. I think Bradyn has done a nice job of working hard in the offseason, knowing what it is that we are looking for, what he is going to need to do to help himself and help our football team.”
CB Kindle Vildor: Vildor was a quiet addition in free agency, as the Patriots signed the cornerback to a one-year deal worth less than $2 million. But with Christian Gonzalez not participating in competitive team drills, it was Vildor who repped opposite Carlton Davis. The 28-year-old, who briefly overlapped with members of the coaching staff in Tennessee, is the most experienced depth option in the room and won his fair share of battles on the outside against A.J. Brown and Mack Hollins throughout the spring.
Losers
ED Gabe Jacas: Jacas is the only second-round rookie yet to sign his contract and has been away from the team while recovering from a procedure to clean up his knee. That has caused him to miss not only valuable on-field reps, but classroom time as well — a concern for a player expected to contribute immediately at arguably the Patriots’ biggest position of need.
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“Will he be a little bit behind? Yeah. Who wouldn’t?” outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said. “As a coach, I coach things different; I’ve got a different [approach] than every other OLB or edge coach in the NFL. So yeah, he’ll be a little bit behind but that’s my job — to try to get him ready to go when his opportunity [comes].”
WR Romeo Doubs: It wasn’t necessarily a bad spring for one of the Patriots’ top free-agent additions, as Doubs worked well underneath and over the middle of the field. But the chemistry between Doubs and quarterback Drake Maye remains a work in progress, particularly down the field. Doubs caught just five passes (10 targets) across four competitive open practices, while several deep targets between the duo fell incomplete. Perhaps those connections come later this summer with more reps together, or Doubs is simply a player who saves the big plays for Sundays.
Tight end depth: The Patriots had big plans for free-agent addition Julian Hill this season. That was until Hill suffered a season-ending injury during OTAs, one Mike Vrabel described as both “devastating” and “awful.”
His absence leaves New England thin behind Hunter Henry. Rookie Eli Raridon is expected to take on a larger role, while Jack Westover handled many of the backup reps during the spring. C.J. Dippre and UDFA Tanner Arkin remain in the mix as well, but the position is now far less settled than it was to start the spring — especially if the team hopes to ease Raridon into the action.
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That led to Vrabel already hint that the team will explore additions.
“I think just from a numbers standpoint in camp, I think that’s somewhere we’ll probably have to evaluate the numbers,” he said. “There’s 90 guys, 91 guys on every team. So, we’ll just have to take a look at that, but I would say that’s probably somewhere where we would have to address.”
