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Jun 11, 2023

Patriots Mailbag: Takeaways From Spring Practice So Far

After watching a pair of New England Patriots spring practices, with a third on

After watching a pair of New England Patriots spring practices, with a third on tap for Friday morning, let's dive into some of your mailbag questions.

@MaskedJamoIt's early but who are you seeing as the McCourty replacementSteve Belichick called that an "open competition" before OTAs began, and that's exactly what we’ve seen thus far. Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Jabrill Peppers, Joshuah Bledsoe, Jalen Mills and third-round rookie Marte Mapu all have taken reps at Devin McCourty's old free safety spot, and it's tough to peg any one favorite through two open practices.

Mills is one of the most intriguing members of that group, as he's transitioning to safety after playing almost exclusively as an outside cornerback in his first two Patriots seasons. He logged more than 250 snaps at free safety for Philadelphia in 2020 and said he's excited to take on a role that lets him show off his versatility and be around the ball more. But it is worth noting that outside of that one season with the Eagles, he's played just 10 total NFL snaps at free safety, per Pro Football Focus, and none with the Patriots.

Mapu is a player to watch, too. He's listed as a linebacker and played there in the first open OTA before getting a look at safety on Tuesday. His skill set doesn't seem like a perfect fit for McCourty's former post. But if the Patriots plan to use multiple players to replace McCourty — which seems likely given how wide-ranging his responsibilities were — Mapu could be part of that equation.

And don't sleep on Bledsoe, who saw a lot of work in McCourty's spot last summer when the Patriots limited the veteran's training camp workload. The 2021 sixth-rounder has played just 22 defensive snaps in his career, but teammates and coaches have spoken highly of him. He's a dark horse in this crowded but seemingly wide-open roster battle.

The Patriots return every other defensive contributor from last year's team, so finding a way to effectively fill McCourty's shoes will be their biggest challenge on that side of the ball this spring and summer.

@Coach_NguyenHow's the O-Line looking so far in OTA's – Any combinations that have stood out? Hard to tell without pads with that group but interesting to see how free agents gel along with a new position coach.Hard to tell without pads, and hard to tell when multiple starters are missing, which has been the case so far in OTAs. Mike Onwenu (recovery from ankle surgery) and Trent Brown (unclear) both sat out the first two open practices, making it difficult to predict exactly what the Patriots’ starting O-line will look like.

Ownenu will be back in his right guard spot once he's healthy enough to return, but we haven't gotten confirmation on which tackle position Brown will play. So far, we’ve seen Riley Reiff on the right side and Calvin Anderson on the left with the first-team offense, with Reiff also taking reps at left tackle. The most likely setup, in my opinion, would be Brown at left tackle and Reiff at right tackle, but again, we don't know that for sure.

One non-starter who's stood out in these early practices is fifth-round draft pick Atonio Mafi. The UCLA product is built like a house, and he saw a fair number of reps with the top offense Tuesday, rotating at right guard with Bill Murray in Onwenu's absence and plugging in at left guard after Cole Strange was removed from practice for fighting. He's been the most visible of the Patriots’ three rookie linemen thus far.

We’ll have to wait until the pads come on in training camp to get an accurate read on this O-line, but I will say the overall operation seems to be cleaner this year. There haven't been the blatant breakdowns and frequent miscommunications that plagued that unit throughout last season. It's early, and the sample size is small, but new position coach Adrian Klemm appears to have his guys on the same page.

@pats300levelpodThis offseason a lot of emphasis appears to be on using 2 TE sets this year, any likelihood of using 2 RB sets to capitalize on potential mismatches with 2 receiving RBs coming out of backfield in the passing game? Seems like it would make sense this year w/ the skill set at RBI think we’ll see a lot more two-tight end sets than two-back sets this season. Will there be an uptick in the latter, too? Maybe.

Rhamondre Stevenson proved last year that he can be a productive player in the passing game, Ty Montgomery is a hybrid running back/receiver who can play either position, and Pierre Strong has the skill set to flex out into the slot, though we haven't seen him do much at all offensively at the NFL level. Putting two of those players on the field together could present some matchup issues.

But Bill O’Brien's offenses historically have not featured many two-back looks, be they formations with a fullback or "pony" sets with two running backs. Over his final three seasons with the Houston Texans, O’Brien used multiple backs on just 4.2% of his offensive plays, per data from Sharp Football Stats. The Patriots also seldom ran two-back sets during O’Brien's first tour as offensive coordinator (2009-11), though he did simulate 21 personnel by occasionally positioning tight end Aaron Hernandez in the backfield.

I’m very interested to see how O’Brien utilizes Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki — and whether there are any parallels to the way he deployed Rob Gronkowski and Hernandez a decade ago.

@ashley1992__Hi Zack, Who do you think has a better chance of making this team, Boutte or Douglas?At this early stage, I’d say Demario Douglas. He's been more impressive than Kayshon Boutte through two open practices, though Boutte was limited in one of those. O’Brien also tore into Boutte early in Tuesday's OTA for lining up incorrectly during an unopposed drill. Not an ideal start for the once-vaunted LSU product.

Anointing or writing off any players this early in the process is silly, but I had Douglas making the 53-man roster and Boutte being cut in my post-draft roster projection, and my feelings on that haven't changed.

@TalkingtoaWall1Which current Patriots player would win in a 100 meter dash race?The favorite has to be Tyquan Thornton, whose 4.28-second 40 at last year's combine was the fastest ever by a Patriots draft pick. But New England added three speed-demon cornerbacks in draft picks Christian Gonzalez (4.38), Ameer Speed (4.33) and Isaiah Bolden (4.33), all of whom could give Thornton a run for his money. And don't sleep on Jonathan Jones, who's nearing his 30th birthday but has been among New England's fastest players throughout his career.