Daily news and links for Wednesday
TEAM TALK
- Evan Lazar’s Training camp preview: Tight End/Fullbacks: Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jaheim Bell, Jack Westover, Brock Lampe (FB), C.J. Dippre, Gee Scott Jr. “As a pairing, Henry and Hooper were one of the best tight end tandems in football last season.” Will the Pats roster a fullback this season? More!
- Patriots Unfiltered: Training Camp preview, Position battles, League news and topics. (2 hours)
LOCAL LINKS
- Mike D’Abate’s Patriots training camp previews: Running Backs.
- Peyton Doyle analyzes Bill Barnwell’s top playmaker power rankings that has New England placed in the bottom three. The Pats have no “Plan B” behind Stefon Diggs.
- Nick Goss talks about Maye, Diggs, and many other Patriots players getting in summer workouts together.
- Chris Mason notes Drake Maye is attending summer throwing session with lots of Patriots playmakers.
- Nick O’Malley posts the clip of Drake Maye recreating his signature play with the help of a teammate while riding a jet ski. /Kinda sweet.
- Jordy McElroy posts a workout video clip of Drake Maye connecting with Stefon Diggs for a touchdown.
- Danny Jaillet says LB K’Lavon Chaisson was seen training with Raiders Pro Bowl DE Maxx Crosby.
- Mike Kadlick reports Drake Maye and his wife donated all of their wedding gifts to a local shelter.
- Ian Logue’s Patriots News: Interesting question on Maye, Postseason odds low. From Mike Giardi: “I talked to three different defensive coordinators that faced him last year, two of them who will face him again this year, and one comment stood out to me. I said, ‘What did you think the first time that you played Drake?’ And this guys said, ‘Well, we knew he was a really talented athlete, but we didn’t think he could solve problems,’ And that’s not uncommon for rookies, right? So I said to him, ‘What did you think after you played him?’ He said, ‘We think he’s an even better athlete than we thought he was, we still don’t think he can solve problems.’” /We’ll see.
- Matthew Schmidt notes The Athletic’s Chad Graff named Rhamondre Stevenson as a contract situation to monitor from each NFL team. ”They gave Stevenson a four-year, $36 million extension last summer (which is just kicking in this year), a deal that already looks foolish after his struggles last season. Then they drafted running back TreVeyon Henderson in the second round, giving them an out to move on from Stevenson after the season if he struggles.”
- Foxborough Fellas podcast: Love Island: Foxborough Edition. Michael Rodnick joins Pete and Divij to put a New England twist on the hit reality show Love Island, pairing up players and coaches to figure out which “couples” have real chemistry… and which ones are headed for a breakup. (90 min.)
NATIONAL NEWS
- Josh Edwards (CBS Sports) Biggest remaining need for every AFC team. Patriots: Edge rusher. “Edge rusher and linebacker are probably on similar footing. There is a respectable floor, but the ceiling is capped. …”
- Zoltán Buday (PFF) 2025 NFL offensive line rankings: 3. Bills – 9. Jets – 25. Dolphins – 29. Patriots. “… First-round left tackle Will Campbell is promising, but it is unlikely a rookie can elevate this unit to even an average level in 2025”
- Zoltán Buday (PFF) 2025 NFL defensive line rankings: 5. Bills – 11. Dolphins – 13. Patriots – 26. Jets. “… New England has a couple of reliable veterans at edge defender in K’Lavon Chaisson and Harold Landry III, but they are most likely hoping that third-year player Keion White can take the next step and become an above-average presence.”
- John Kosko (PFF) 2025 NFL secondary rankings: 5. Patriots – 11. Jets – 14. Bills – 29. Dolphins. “… Budding star Christian Gonzalez leads the group after missing most of his rookie season in 2023.”
- Charles McDonald (Yahoo! Sports) NFL’s top 10 defenders: Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett and Pat Surtain II are in top tier, while front 7 dominates. No Pats.
- Jeremy Fowler (ESPN) Execs, coaches, scouts rank the NFL’s top 10 edge rushers for 2025.
- Ben Linsey (PFF) Measuring defensive line alignment versatility: A potential edge for NFL defenses.
- Maurice Jones-Drew (NFL.com) Ranking all 32 RB1s heading into 2025 NFL season. No. 18 Rhamondre Stevenson.
- Trevor Sikkema (PFF) 5 coordinators who could make headlines during the 2025 NFL season. No Pats.
- Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) After a tumultuous offseason, it’s time for Dolphins to prove they have the fortitude of a real contender. /Why? They haven’t been in a while.
- Bobby Kownack (NFL.com) AFC East training camp previews: Patriots – Bills – Jets – Dolphins. Key dates, notable additions, biggest storylines for each team.
- Stephen Holder (ESPN) Flag football at 2028 Summer Olympics: Updates, NFL plans.
- Matt Bowen (ESPN) Building the best 2028 Olympics U.S. flag football roster.
- Ben Baby (ESPN) Three things gleaned from Bengals QB Joe Burrow on ‘Quarterback’.