Christian Barmore made an immediate impact in the Patriots’ first padded practice of training camp. Here’s who else stood out to Phil Perry on Monday.
The offense and defense split the reps, winning two each. It began with a handoff to Kevin Harris, who ran into a crowd led by rookie Keion White, but burrowed his way into the end zone. Jabrill Peppers blew up linebacker-turned-fullback Jahlani Tavai on the second snap to stop Harris in his tracks. After an incomplete pass from Mac Jones to Hunter Henry, Pierre Strong plunged into the end zone for the final play of the practice.
"You don't really start hitting until the preseason. Whenever I can build that callous and get my body back into the swing of things, I love that." If he can stay healthy, there's not a player on this roster who seems more likely to enter into the conversation as one of the elite players in the NFL at his position.While the bigger bodies are deserving of the spotlight when the physicality gets ratcheted up, there were still opportunities for smaller players to stand out. Bryant, for example, got early attaboys from teammates and coaches when he blew up a bubble screen.
Jabrill Peppers spoke with the media following the Patriots first practice with pads on in training camp. He spoke highly of rookie Demario Douglass out of Liberty, and the physicality he brings.The Patriots seem to have their in-house backup to Rhamondre Stevenson settled. Harris was consistently the first back on the field with Stevenson getting a down day.
Harris seemed to take advantage Monday. He had one Mac Jones pass glance off his fingertips, but he caught two Jones checkdowns and protected the football sufficiently. He also had an explosive cut to daylight on a wide-zone run that led to a healthy gain.The rookie sixth-rounder lit it up in the punt game on Monday. He had multiple punts that hung for over 5.0 seconds, which is rare. Some drew audible reactions from the crowd in attendance. Also rare.
We'll track his availability moving forward. Worth wondering if the knee braces that Patriots linemen are required to wear on the field saved Strange from suffering a more serious injury.When Strange left, rookie fifth-rounder Atonio Mafi stepped into his spot at left guard. He didn't stand out in a negative fashion, but the depth along the line was certainly stressed. Chasen Hines missed time injured on Monday as well.
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