Who stood out during the Patriots’ practice on Saturday, for better or worse.
Coming off a walkthrough, the New England Patriots significantly increased the intensity and competition on Saturday. Their 90-minute practice on the fields behind Gillette Stadium saw big plays on both sides of the ball.
You can recap the action here. And as always, here is out list of standout performers from training camp session No. 4.
Standout of the day
WR DeMario Douglas: Pop continues to… well… pop. The third-year wide receiver has been the Patriots’ most productive and consistent playmaker on offense so far this summer, and Saturday might have been his best work to date. Aligning in his usual spot as a starting interior receiver — usually sharing the field with Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte — he made several highlight-reel plays.
The biggest among them came on an off-script touchdown of 50-60 yards from Drake Maye in 11-on-11s. While the QB delivered a pin-point pass while on the move, the receiver himself also did his part by staying alive and getting behind defenders Christian Gonzalez and Kyle Dugger. He also caught a contested back-shoulder fade over Marcus Jones and made a chunk play on a crossing pattern.
Even with the addition of Diggs, Douglas has the strongest case to become New England’s WR1 and Maye’s go-to guy this fall.
Other performances of note
RB TreVeyon Henderson: There is speed, and then there is TreVeyon Henderson’s speed. The second-round rookie, who was not involved with the starting-level offense during Friday’s walkthrough, had a productive day that included a would-be touchdown on a deep pass from Joshua Dobbs; he also showcased his speed on a screen play that saw him explode up the field. In addition, he spent time with the kickoff returners as well.
RB Lan Larison: The undrafted rookie was involved in two of the negative plays of the day. Not only did he fumble a kickoff return, he also was the target on Joshua Dobbs’ interception. Larison was covered tightly by Jack Gibbens on the play, who was able to reach around to knock the ball in the air and allow Jabrill Peppers to pick it off.
WR Javon Baker: Is the second-year wide receiver going full “Call the ambulance, but not for me!” mode? Not yet, but Saturday was a step in the right direction after a quiet start to training camp. Baker had one of the plays of the day when he hauled in a 60ish-yard touchdown from Drake Maye during 7-on-7s, sprinting past defensive back Jaylinn Hawkins on a well-executed double move.
WR Stefon Diggs: Diggs has been one of the pleasant surprises of camp so far, but he was comparatively anonymous on Saturday from a production perspective. While he continues to run with the starters and was given plenty of chances to make plays, he caught just one of three targets from Drake Maye against Christian Gonzalez during 7-on-7s and only two passes in 11-on-11 work. He also saw a ball get unnecessarily knocked out his hands by Harold Landry.
DT Milton Williams: Aligning exclusively at the 3-technique spot along the interior defensive line, Williams continues to wreak havoc as a pass rusher. While he registered “only” one would-be sack on the day, he continuously collapsed the pocket up the middle and forced the team’s quarterbacks to move around.
LB Robert Spillane: The free agency pickup is going to play a big role for the Patriots defense this season, and Saturday provided a glimpse into what it might look like. He was all over the field in his job as the starting off-ball linebacker for the first-team defense and along the way registered a pair of pass breakups (versus Hunter Henry and DeMario Douglas) as well as one pressure as a pass rusher.
K Andres Borregales: The Patriots’ rookie kicker has yet to pick up the form he showed in the spring. While the job is still his to loose, he was 3-of-4 in his attempts — including one make from around 37 yards away that went just over the goal post and might have been called a miss as well had officials been at hand. He closed out practice on a high note by splitting the uprights from 47 and 50 yards away, but he has yet to look as automatic as he did during the five offseason practices open to the media.
Other players worth pointing out are edge defenders Keion White and Harold Landry; the former registered a pair of would-be sacks, the latter a pass breakup. Jack Gibbens had the aforementioned PBU leading to a pick and another against tight end Gee Scott Jr., while rookie QB Ben Wooldridge struggled a bit with consistency and accuracy.
The Patriots will enjoy their first practice-free day of training camp on Sunday. They will be back at work on Monday for a 10:30 a.m. ET session.