The first major chance is over for New England Patriots players to make a strong impression on the new coaching staff.
Organized team activities and minicamp are especially important times with a mostly new group of decision-makers. For a few Patriots players, those sessions ended with plenty to feel good about. For others, a strong training camp is necessary to give them a shot.
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After projecting the 53-man roster earlier this week, let’s look at four players whose stock is rising and four who are headed in the wrong direction.
Risers
Caedan Wallace, OT
Two things can be true for the Patriots’ rookie third-round pick. First, it’s difficult to evaluate and put too much stock into the performances of offensive linemen during these spring practices since they’re not wearing full pads. Secondly, the Patriots seem pleased enough by what they’ve seen from Wallace to consider letting him stay at his natural position of right tackle.
This is partly due to issues on the interior of the offensive line. But in minicamp, the Patriots moved Mike Onwenu from right tackle to right guard to, as head coach Jerod Mayo suggested, use the best five offensive linemen regardless of position.
So given their struggle to find two competent guards, they might consider keeping Onwenu at guard while using Chukwuma Okorafor at left tackle and Wallace at right tackle.
In training camp, Wallace will have to show he belongs, but staying at right tackle (where he played at Penn State) could ease his transition to the NFL and lead to him being a Week 1 starter.
Patriots sign 2024 third-round draft pick T Caedan Wallace: https://t.co/RCjOSX9P0F pic.twitter.com/jdutl2OO1s
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 31, 2024
DeMario Douglas, WR
Douglas was by far the Patriots’ best and most explosive playmaker in practice this spring. Every time he got the ball in his hands, good things seemed to happen for the offense. Now, it’s fair to concede that Kendrick Bourne didn’t practice as he recovers from his ACL tear, but these were important strides for the 23-year-old Douglas.
He was the team’s leading receiver last season — albeit with only 561 yards — and looked even better in spring practices.
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The tough thing for the Patriots is that Douglas can pretty much only play from the slot, and they already have several receivers who are at their best in that position (including Bourne, K.J. Osborn and JuJu Smith-Schuster). But it’s going to be Alex Van Pelt’s job to figure out how to keep Douglas on the field because he’s the team’s most dynamic receiver.
Kayshon Boutte, WR
It’s still unclear whether Boutte will face any discipline following his offseason arrest for allegedly and illegally gambling on sports. But the 2023 sixth-round pick made enough plays that he’s back in consideration for a roster spot.
Still, his road to the 53-man is difficult. There’s probably only one spot for Boutte, Smith-Schuster, Jalen Reagor and Tyquan Thornton. Boutte may not seem the likeliest to win that competition, but after a solid spring, don’t rule him out.
Alex Austin, CB
The 23-year-old quietly put together an impressive five-game audition for the Patriots at the end of last season when they were dealing with a slew of injuries to their cornerbacks.
The Pats signed Austin in November after he was released from the Houston Texans’ practice squad, and he arrived with little in the way of expectations. Then he was thrust into action after J.C. Jackson’s leave from the team.
But he has built on his success from last season and could become the team’s No. 2 outside corner if Jonathan Jones plays in the slot.
“When we finished up last year, he was one of those guys where it was like, ‘Look, this is an NFL player,’” Mayo said. “So it’s good to see him coming back in shape and making plays.”
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Fallers
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR
The 27-year-old said his injured knee is much healthier than last season, which is a positive. But at least to this untrained eye, it didn’t appear as if Smith-Schuster had the same explosiveness he did in 2021 or 2022.
If he’s going to make the roster, he needs to definitively outplay both Boutte and Thornton in training camp while hoping Reagor loses the competition for the top kick-return job.
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Cole Strange, G
Perhaps it’s unfair to put an injured guy on this list, but this is a massive year for Strange. The Patriots are switching to an offense that better suits the guard they drafted in the first round in 2022.
After a couple of bumpy seasons, Strange should be set up for his best year yet. But these spring practices are when you’re supposed to get lots of reps and learn the offense before building in camp. Instead, it’s unclear whether Strange will be ready for the start of training camp, which means he’ll be behind schedule in this crucial year.
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Bailey Zappe, QB
Toward the end of OTAs, Drake Maye overtook Zappe as the No. 2 quarterback. That’s not entirely surprising, but with sixth-round pick Joe Milton also in the fold, it seems like Zappe’s days with the Patriots may be close to over.
To earn the No. 3 quarterback spot, he’d have to drastically outplay Milton, which didn’t happen this spring.
Marte Mapu, LB/S
In fairness to Mapu, there’s a lot that can change once the pads come on in training camp. But after watching the defense in spring practices, I’m struggling to see a three-down role (or maybe even a two-down role) for Mapu, which is what you’d ideally like from a player drafted 76th overall last year.
The Patriots have always done a good job of getting the most out of players others saw as being “between positions,” but Mapu seems a bit stuck. He’s too small to play linebacker consistently, but too big to play safety.
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(Photo of DeMario Douglas: Rich Barnes / Getty Images)
