GREEN BAY – The Ezekiel Elliott has begun.
Wednesday’s joint practice marked the first day for Elliott in a Patriots uniform. After the team announced his signing in the morning, the running back suited up for Wednesday’s session against the Green Bay Packers.
Elliott went full speed to start this practice, but overall, was a limited participant. The 28-year-old took part in the Patriots walkthrough portion of practice. Here we saw Elliott take part in position drills with the running backs, where he repped behind Rhamondre Stevenson, as well as a walkthrough with quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
Elliott took handoffs from Jones and Zappe before he caught some passes from Jones. Following this portion of practice, the veteran running back didn’t take part in any full-contact work against the Packers.
Here are the main takeaways from the session:
FanDuel Sportsbook Massachusetts $1,000 NO-SWEAT BET
21+ and present in participating states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
- Related: Mobile sports betting is live in Massachusetts on FanDuel. Get started with a $1,000 no-sweat bet
1. Mac Jones had a strong day despite some issues around him
Mac Jones finished 18-of-26 in this practice, completing 69% of his throws against the Packers in full-team drills. The Patriots starting quarterback didn’t look out of place against another team’s defense. He was really strong to start this one, going 11-of-15 with a nice performance in the red zone. That period ended with a touchdown to DeVante Parker.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. Jones didn’t attempt many deep ball. His pass protection was also suspect. The offensive line struggled in the second half of practice and that stymied the group’s momentum. Bill Belichick even forced the offense to take one more reps during the 2-minute drill after being displeased with the group’s effort.
“Definitely think we need to be more consistent,” said Jones. “I know we had a couple situations, just penalties, we have to get fixed.”
2. Offensive line must clean it up
The Patriots are still without starting guards Michael Onwenu, who made the trip to Green Bay, and Cole Strange. Their unit in front of Jones was Trent Brown, Atonio Mafi, David Andrews, Riley Reiff and Sidy Sow. The pocket collapsed quickly on Wednesday, which has been a summer-long issue.
However, the unit also got sloppy in the second half of practice. In one period, we saw two penalties in three plays when Sow was called for a hold and Mafi called for a false start. This happened after back-to-back completions to Parker. That’s a great way to stop a drive and the unit needs to clean it up.
“We’ve got to get five guys out there together who can work as one,” said Brown. “And hopefully we can get everybody back healthy and get our core group back together and just start from there.”
3. DeVante Parker looked legit
Parker has had some of the best catches this summer. On Wednesday, he looked like the Patriots best receiver. The veteran receiver finished with a camp-high five receptions against the Packers. That included a nice touchdown, where he jumped over the Packers secondary, and back-to-back catches on Rasul Douglas, who gave Jones some issues.
The Packers did a solid job of taking Hunter Henry (two catches) away, but they couldn’t stop Parker. Jones was 5-of-6 when targeting Parker and the receiver said the lone incomplete pass got caught up in the wind.
4. Rhamondre Stevenson is going to have a big year
Even with Elliott in the fold, we shouldn’t discount Stevenson on this team. He’s going to be the lead back and will factor in on third downs. That was clear on Wednesday. Stevenson got a ton of work in the backfield and finished practice tied with Parker with five receptions from Jones. Stevenson looks quick out of the backfield and it wouldn’t be surprising to see this back have another big year – even with a veteran running back to compliment him.
“Whatever the team needs me to do,” Stevenson said. “If the need me out there more, I’m reliable to do that. If they need me out less to keep the running backs fresh, I’m alright with that, too. Whatever coach wants.”
5. Kayshon Boutte started strong, but fizzled
Rookie Kayshon Boutte had a really nice stretch in practice. He ended the third period with a reception from Jones. When Zappe came on the field, Boutte caught three passes on five drop backs. However, the sixth-round pick was shut out after that.
Boutte caught five passes on Monday and then added four on Wednesday. He has some momentum, but needs to put together a consistent effort to lock up a spot on the 53-man roster.
6. Demario Douglas continues to shine
Douglas continues to be one of the stars of this camp for the Patriots. Wednesday was no exception. The rookie continues to see reps with Jones’ unit and is a playmaker with Zappe on the field as well. Douglas finished with five catches, all from Zappe, and is notably fast with the ball in his hands. His stock keeps rising and it’s clear he’s making this team.
Douglas leads all Patriots with 34 catches in team drills this summer.
7. Anthony Firkser steps up
With Mike Gesicki (shoulder) out, the Patriots need another tight end to step up. On Wednesday, it was Anthony Firkser. The veteran tight end caught a camp-high three catches (all from Zappe) on this day. That was the most out of any tight end (Henry had two and Matt Sokol had two). Firkser and Sokol both rotated in and out of the lineup when Jones was on the field.
8. Some pushing, but no fights
It’s not uncommon to see fights breakout in joint practices. Although we saw some pushing and shoving, the Patriots and Packers stayed fight free on Wednesday. There were referees on hand and they blew the whistle early to try and stop anything before it started.
Of course, there were some close moments. Demario Douglas seemed to frustrate Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon early in practice. Both players were locked up following a snap and briefly pushed each other. Rookie Ameer Speed also got into a short pushing match with an unidentified Packers players following a special teams play.
Then there was Jack Jones. The Patriots cornerback nearly got into it with Packers receiver Jadakis Bonds post-whistle, but the pair was separated. (More on him below.)
9. Jack Jones had his moments
It’s easy to see the talent with Jones. The cornerback is special when it comes to man coverage. He had a really nice pass break up on Jordan Love on Wednesday while covering Romeo Doubs on a deep ball.
Of course, with Jones, there also comes some other ‘stuff.’ After he got into a shoving match with Bonds, it looked like he gave up a touchdown to Malik Heath on a Sean Clifford throw. After the play was over, Jones walked up to Clifford and it looked like he was talking trash. It got to the point where Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington had to pull Jones away so they could play another snap.
10. Patriots defense was competitive
This isn’t a surprise, but the Patriots defense continues to impress. They had their work cut out for them on some reps, but overall, played well against Love and the Packers defense. We saw pass breakups from Jack Jones, Isaiah Bolden, Shaun Wade and Deatrich Wise. Matthew Judon and Wise also gave the Packers offensive line fits and notched multiple sacks each.
Love did the Patriots on some plays. He hit Christian Watson for what looked like a 40-to-50-yard deep ball with Christian Gonzalez in coverage. Love went 5-for-8 in the final 2-minute drill.
“It’s just competition,” said Kyle Dugger. “I don’t put a level on the battle or competitiveness, but it was a high level.”
11. Patriots young corners struggled
It wasn’t a perfect day for the Patriots defense. At times, it felt like Love was picking on Marcus Jones on the outside as well as Gonzalez. Marcus Jones gave up to Samori Toure, Watson and Doubs. Gonzalez, after the long reception to Watson, gave up two more catches to Doubs in the final 2-minute drill.
12. The Patriots kicker battle is tight
The elements were in the kickers favor on Wednesday. This practice saw a strong wind push multiple kicks (and passes) back. Still, Nick Folk and Chad Ryland took turns taking kicks for the Patriots.
Folk had the better day going 4-for-5. He made kicks from 35, 37, 43 and again from 43 yards. Folk missed another 43-yard attempt. Ryland went 4-for-6. He made kicks from 35, 43, 39 and 45 yards. Ryland missed from 37 and 43 yards. You can also argue he might’ve missed his final attempt, from 45, due to the wind, but it was too close to tell.
13. Malik Cunningham does it all
Malik Cunningham continues to be an interesting story. He took four snaps at quarterback on Wednesday (two handoffs to Stevenson and two keepers) while subbing in for Jones and Zappe. Cunningham also played gunner on the special teams punt coverage unit in practice.
14. Attendance check
The Patriots were missing 10 players from Wednesday’s practice – Ty Montgomery, Cole Strange, Kody Russey, Jonathan Jones, Pierre Strong, Mike Gesicki, Michael Onwenu (PUP), Cody Davis (PUP), Trey Flowers (PUP) and Calvin Anderson (NFI).
Bill Murray returned to practice in a red non-contact jersey. Rookie Marte Mapu came out of his red jersey for the first time this summer.
