{"id":40237,"date":"2022-06-07T10:34:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T10:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/what-to-watch-for-at-patriots-minicamp\/"},"modified":"2022-06-07T10:34:19","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T10:34:19","slug":"what-to-watch-for-at-patriots-minicamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/what-to-watch-for-at-patriots-minicamp\/","title":{"rendered":"What to watch for at Patriots minicamp"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the most part, rookies are in over their heads at this point and it’s probably a stretch expecting to see any of them playing a major role in minicamp. Last year, Mac Jones was a notable exception, but unless you’re a quarterback, there might not be many opportunities to shine. The rooks will need to make the most of their chances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tyquan Thornton’s speed is something to watch for, as is the potential electric return ability of Marcus Jones. Jack Jones made a lot of plays on the ball in college and was getting some opportunities in OTAs. A minicamp interception or two would put Jack on the radar at outside cornerback. Cole Strange should continue to anchor the left guard spot, while it would be nice to finally get a glimpse of Chasen Hines and Andrew Stueber, two rookie offensive lineman that were not spotted at either OTA practice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It will be tough to get a read on the rookies until the pads come on, but speed and quickness are things that can still show up even without them on. The team wanted to get faster this offseason, we’ll get a barometer from this year’s draft class this week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2022 didn’t see the same huge free agency haul that 2021 did but there are still some veteran free agent additions that could win significant roles this summer, especially on defense. Malcolm Butler and Terrance Mitchell are experienced cornerbacks who should be in the starting mix, while safety Jabrill Peppers has the kind of versatility that will fit in well on defense, even if it’s unclear how many different spots he’ll be able to play. Veteran linebacker Mack Wilson should also be active in minicamp as the linebacker group undergoes some turnover and has some health questions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Offensively there are fewer spots where new faces might make an impact, but that doesn’t mean a shortage of excitement for DeVante Parker, who flashed during OTAs, as well as Ty Montgomery, a hybrid offensive player who could contribute at both running back and receiver.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Unlike the rookies, the vets should be able to jump right into the mix by minicamp.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With the limited free-agent class, it will also put a major focus on some of the recent draft classes as the team hopes to see some young veterans finally emerge into major roles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This starts at the linebacker position, where players like Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings and Ronnie Perkins all should see opportunity knocking. No other position group saw the kind of turnover than the second level of the defense with tenured veterans like Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy no longer on the roster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But linebacker isn’t alone, as the offensive line is another spot where some of the young Patriots have a golden opportunity. Michael Onwenu should be able to finally seize a starting guard spot on the right side, his college position, while Justin Herron and Yodny Cajuste appear to be very much in the mix at the tackle position. In the secondary, Joejuan Williams, Shaun Wade and Joshuah Bledsoe are unknown quantities who could push the veteran free-agent additions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the most part, rookies are in over their heads at this point and it’s probably a stretch expecting to see any of them playing a major role in minicamp. Last year, Mac Jones was a notable exception, but unless you’re a quarterback, there might not be many opportunities to shine. The rooks will need …<\/p>\n

What to watch for at Patriots minicamp<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.clubs.nfl.com\/image\/private\/t_editorial_landscape_12_desktop\/patriots\/jvl5hatl5ptyy9spzfvd","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}