Patriots minicamp takeaways: As Stefon Diggs rehabs, rookie playmakers shine on Day 1 of mandatory workouts

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Boston sports scene is currently abuzz with the Red Sox promoting Roman Anthony, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, to the big leagues. Meanwhile, just about 34 miles south of Fenway Park, the youngsters for the New England Patriots were making noise behind Gillette Stadium during Day 1 of mandatory minicamp. 

Most notably, Kyle Williams, the No. 69 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, turned in the play of the day. The first-year wideout torched the secondary, beating safeties Marcus Epps and Dell Pettus up the middle of the field for what was roughly a 40-yard touchdown. A few plays earlier, Williams had another stellar reception, hauling in a back-shoulder throw from Joshua Dobbs, who was also the one who tossed the deep touchdown.

Meanwhile, Drake Maye enjoyed a nifty touchdown pass to second-round running back TreVeyon Henderson, who beat linebacker Christian Ellis for the score. 

Given that Henderson and Williams were both highly touted Day 2 selections, their success on Day 1 of minicamp (and most of the offseason program to this point) was somewhat expected, albeit a welcome sight for a receiver room desperate for a young option to step up. 

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More unexpected, however, has been the springtime surge of undrafted wide receiver Efton Chism III. The Eastern Washington product has been heavily targeted throughout the offseason program, and was again in the thick of it during minicamp with two receptions during competitive drills, possibly setting the stage for him crashing the party at training camp in what is a crowded position group. 

“I mean, they’re making plays all day,” Maye said when asked about the performance of the young skill position players after practice. “TreVeyon caught a touchdown, Kyle caught a deep ball, Chis [Efton Chism III] had about 50 catches, I feel like, in OTAs. So, these guys are just showing the work and showing up. I’ve been through it with the rookies — they’re here in some rookie meetings until 5 o’clock, some NFLPA meetings. So, they’ve got a lot on their plate, and I think they’re responding well.”

As for New England’s top pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Will Campbell, he has also been performing well during OTAs and now in minicamp and seems entrenched on the left side as a Day 1 starter. Of course, given the non-contact nature of these practices with no pads, we’ll get a better evaluation of him once training camp rolls around later this summer. That said — and again, it’s early in the process — the Patriots youngsters seem to be moving in the right direction. 

For more from Monday’s minicamp session, check out more takeaways below:

How the QBs fared

It was an efficient day for Drake Maye. By my count, the second-year quarterback completed 14 of his 18 throws during competitive drills. That includes Maye completing his first eight passes in the session. Specifically in red zone situations, I had Maye completing six of his nine attempts. 

Veteran Josh Dobbs had the flashier moments of the day, especially with the deep touchdown to Williams, but wasn’t as efficient. He completed seven of his 11 attempts. One of those incompletions was a drop from tight end CJ Dippre, but Dobbs also had an interception, allowing Isaiah Bolden to jump the route and take the ball to the house for the would-be score. 

The Patriots signed pass rusher Harold Landry to a $43.5 million contract back in March, and it seems like the former Boston College Eagle is right at home in New England’s defense. While this is still an unpadded period of the offseason program, Landry made his presence felt during competitive drills. In a specific rep during 11-on-11s, Landry’s speed off the edge ultimately forced a dead play (or would-be sack) of Maye, who rolled out of bounds to end the play altogether. Landry played under Mike Vrabel in Tennessee and registered 12 sacks during the 2021 campaign, and his speed off the edge has been quite apparent throughout the offseason practices open to the media. 

While Chism is garnering most of the attention, fellow undrafted rookie Lan Larison also turned some heads Monday. The former UC Davis running back had a tremendous over-the-shoulder touchdown catch on a wheel route on a pass from Dobbs during 11-on-11 drills. Given that New England’s running back room is a bit crowded with Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson and TreVeyon Henderson, Larison has an uphill climb to make the roster, but plays like he made on Day 1 of minicamp certainly help set himself apart. 

Carlton Davis was absent for some of the OTA sessions open to the media, but was present during Monday’s minicamp practice. My impression from watching up on the hill overlooking the Patriots practice fields was that it was an up-and-down day for the veteran corner, who inked a three-year, $54 million deal in free agency. Davis was beat by DeMario Douglas on a throw from Maye in the team’s first set of competitive 11-on-11 drills. During red zone drills, Maye again went at Davis and beat him on a back-corner touchdown to Kendrick Bourne. However, Davis was able to enact some revenge, breaking up a Maye pass to tight end Hunter Henry. 

Davis’ day seemed to symbolize the practice as a whole, with the offense and defense both going back and forth throughout the afternoon. 

Stefon Diggs continues to make strides in his recovery. While the free agent prize didn’t participate during competitive 11-on-11s and was off to the side working on individual drills with other rehabbing players, he looks like a player knocking on the door of full strength. When the Patriots receivers were running routes against air or a member of the coaching staff at the beginning of Monday’s session, Diggs participated and appeared to be cutting with relative ease. 

“He’s trying to figure out where everything is and what his role is and making sure that as we add those situations — the third down, the no-huddle and red zone — that he’s staying up on it, working hard in his rehab,” Vrabel said of Diggs before Monday’s practice. “Certain drills he can be out there and there’s certain drills that he won’t be, but I think he’s engaged and I like his energy.”

Given that the 31-year-old suffered a torn ACL in Week 8 of last season, seeing him make those kinds of cuts is an encouraging sign for his availability during training camp and possibly being ready to go to begin the regular season. 

Minicamp cut short

Leading up to Day 1 of minicamp, we got word that Wednesday’s session would be canceled, meaning that the Patriots would only be on the field for two days to close out these workouts. Mike Vrabel did say, however, that the players would be at the facility on Wednesday, but simply wouldn’t have a full on-field session.  

“I just felt like hopefully we can get two good days of work here and get going on to the offseason program,” Vrabel said when asked why he canceled Wednesday’s session. “We’ll still work; I just didn’t want to come out. We’ll be out on the field. We’ll be lifting, running and meeting.”

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