FOXBOROUGH – There are certain moments in camp when your jaw nearly hits the ground.
These special plays used to be more routine from the Patriots offense back in the day when you had Tom Brady throwing to Rob Gronkowski or Julian Edelman. However, this summer, we’ve seen a handful of players step up in Foxborough and on Tuesday, we saw the best play of Patriots training camp.
With Mac Jones and the Patriots offense in the red zone, the team’s defense was all over the offensive line. Jones didn’t have much time to throw the ball but on this snap, he took a chance when he threw the ball up to the back of the end zone.
That’s when Mike Gesicki jumped over Jabrill Peppers and two other Patriots defenders. In an instant, this tight end grabbed the football with his left hand and somehow kept both feet in bounds of the back of the end zone. The officials at practice raised their hands to signal a touchdown and just like that, Gesicki made a jaw-dropping catch in front of the media and fans in attendance.
“It’s pretty impressive. I got a decent view so I’m excited to watch that on film,” said fellow tight end Hunter Henry. “I mean, it’s who he is. It’s what he does. It’s what he’s done in this league. That was a big time play.”
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That was Gesicki’s best play of training camp, but not his only highlight. On Day 10 of camp, on Sunday, the tight end made a one-handed catch from Jones in 7-on-7 drills. This came with Peppers in tight coverage. After a slow start to camp, Gesicki started to shine once the pads came on.
Over the last five competitive practices, he has seven catches from Jones and another two receptions from Bailey Zappe. The 27-year-old said on Monday that he was getting more comfortable in this new offense.
“Obviously there’s always going to be a learning curve and stuff to get better at, but I feel right at home, I feel comfortable, I feel confident,” said Gesicki. “I feel like I’m playing fast and we’ll just continue to get better.”
The majority of Gesicki’s damage in practice has been in the red zone. The hope is that the addition of this 6-foot-6 tight end will help the Patriots improve from last season when they finished dead last in red zone efficiency. So far, Gesicki’s growth should give people optimism as it looks like he’ll be an improvement over Jonnu Smith, who the Patriots traded to Atlanta this offseason.
Gesicki’s teammate, Henry, has also been one of the top players in training camp. Through 12 day of camp, Henry is second on the team with 21 receptions. Henry had a good day on Tuesday as well, finishing with three receptions from Jones.
Afterward, Henry said he’s excited to see what he and Gesicki can accomplish this season – especially after seeing how his teammate ended practice.
“He’s a great player. He’s done a lot in this league. I’m excited to start this season and get things flowing for the both of us,” Henry said. “I got one (nice catch) at the end there in the 2-minute drill. His was probably a little more impressive with a touchdown and a guy all over him. That was a big-time play.
“He’s pretty special when the ball is in the air. That’s just kind of what we need to be – when the ball’s in the air, we’ve got to find a way to bring it down.”
