Daily news and links for Friday
TEAM TALK
- Evan Lazar’s Training camp preview: Wide receivers. Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, Mack Hollins, Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, Efton Chism III, John Jiles, Dameer Blankumsee, Jeremiah Webb.
- Mike Dussault reports Christian Gonzalez cracks the NFL Top 100 at No. 84: A rising star in New England’s secondary.
- Patriots Unfiltered: Gonzo Top 100, Josh McDaniels offense, League and team news/topics. (2 hours)
LOCAL LINKS
- Nick Goss finds that most experts think the Patriots did a great job upgrading their roster at key positions during the 2025 NFL offseason. “And it’s not like these signings have decimated the Patriots’ salary cap picture. They still have $60 million in cap space, per OverTheCap, which is the most in the league. And they’re not paying Drake Maye or Christian Gonzalez huge money yet.” More.
- Conor Ryan notes CB Christian Gonzalez was named as one of the top 100 players in the NFL entering the 2025 season. “Despite getting some recognition from his peers, the case can be made that Gonzalez should have been ranked even higher after establishing himself as one of the top cover corners in the league in 2024.”
- Nick Goss feels the No 84 ranking for Christian Gonzalez is a little too low. /Me too.
- Matthew Schmidt is not a fan of how LB Harold Landry is being disrespected at a ridiculous level. “Apparently, advanced metrics do not like Landry, even though he has totaled 31.5 sacks over his last three healthy seasons. … Sorry, but results matter. We can talk about “advanced statistics” as much as we want, but at some point, we have to look at the actual production, and Landry has been producing.
- Sara Marshall talks about how Drake Maye is predicted to make MVP-sized leap in his second season.
- Khari Thompson sits down with CB Marcus Jones for a wide ranging interview at the music camp he co-founded. Jones dishes on his goals, Mike Vrabel’s coaching style and what he’s seeing from Drake Maye.
- Jordy McElroy relays Stefon Diggs revealing his mindset ahead of camp, “I was a fifth-round draft pick. I beat everybody out of a job,” said Diggs. “That’s how I got my start. I got my opportunity, and I took advantage, and I got better each and every week. Now, I’m going into the new situation. I love that God gave me the opportunity again. …There is no second chances with this [expletive]. You gotta take advantage of the right now.”
- Danny Jaillet tells us RB Rhamondre Stevenson landed 18th in NFL.com’s RB rankings.
- Alex Barth reports the Patriots announced an additional in-stadium practice being held inside Gillette Stadium.
- Alex Barth notes the Canadian Football League is showing interest in two of the Patriots’ UDFAs: WR Efton Chism (BC Lions), and QB Ben Wooldridge (Calgary Stampeders).
- Lauren Campbell highlights Robert Kraft expressing confidence his Patriots will turn things around in 2025.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Kristopher Knox (Bleacher Report) Predicting every team’s biggest bust of the 2025 NFL season. Patriots: LB Harold Landry III. The bust potential of pass-rusher Harold Landry III lies in the financials. The New England Patriots gave the 29-year-old a three-year, $43.5 million contract in free agency. That’s a substantial sum for an edge-defender who is probably second-tier at best; More.
- Dan Parr (NFL.com) 2025 NFL season: One player to root for from each AFC team. Patriots: Christian Barmore. /Click for commentary.
- Gary Davenport (Bleacher Report) 2025 NFL Power Rankings: Where does every team stack up entering training camp? Jets 28th, Patriots 26th, Dolphins 23rd, Bills 3rd.
- Eric Edholm (NFL.com) Ranking all eight NFL divisions entering 2025 season. AFC East 6th. “If the division as a whole is going to take a step forward in the hierarchy, it likely will require either the Patriots or Jets to outperform their exterior expectations.” More.
- Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) NFL offseason power rankings: Will No. 14 Cincinnati Bengals waste another great Joe Burrow season?
- Kristopher Knox (Bleacher Report) Every NFL team’s Mt. Rushmore since 2000. Patriots: Brady, Gronk, Mankins, Wilfork. /Click for commentary.
- Nate Davis (USA Today) NFL uniforms ranked. Patriots 28th?!? /Consider me rankled.
- NFL Throwback (NFL.com) Best short careers in NFL history. (40 min. video)