With OTAs and minicamp in the books, the New England Patriots are on break until training camp begins on July 23.
In the meantime, there will be no shortage of speculation about potential roster cuts and additions. There will be legitimate competition at multiple position groups later this summer, especially at wide receiver, offensive line, and safety.
NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots insider Phil Perry attended Patriots practices throughout the spring, so he has a solid idea of who is trending toward earning a spot on the 53-man roster. He shared his early roster projection — as seen below — on the latest episode of the Next Pats Podcast.
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Quarterback (2): Drake Maye, Joshua Dobbs
“Not a whole lot to talk about here,” Perry said. “You’re probably gonna end up with a third quarterback on the roster for the practice squad. Maybe it’s good old Ben Wooldridge, who has been with the team since signing as an undrafted rookie.”
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Running back (4): Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, TreVeyon Henderson, Lan Larison
“I see (Larison) being used consistently in the kicking game. I see him being used as a receiver out of the backfield at times,” Perry said.
“This might be a little bit of a pre-draft bias that’s factoring into my 53-man roster projection, because it’s not as though he’s lit it up this spring the way somebody like Efton Chism kind of has. But I do think he would be of use to the 53-man roster.”
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Wide receiver (7): Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, Kendrick Bourne, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Efton Chism III
“Boutte, to me, feels safer than Bourne,” Perry said. “I think Boutte is the kind of player that they feel like could play on the outside. We saw him do it last year and we’ve seen him do it a lot with the top group of Patriots receivers.”
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Tight end (3): Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Brock Lampe
“A lot of formations they were using (at practice) had a fullback. (Lampe’s) the guy,” Perry said. “He looks like the guy at fullback. To me, he feels like the best option for that role and I think they’re gonna want to have that role with Josh McDaniels.”
Offensive line (9): Will Campbell, Cole Strange, Jared Wilson, Garrett Bradbury, Mike Onwenu, Morgan Moses, Caedan Wallace, Vederian Lowe, Sidy Sow
“I would keep Vederian Lowe,” Perry said. “Because I look at Caedan Wallace, yeah, he can play tackle in a pinch, but Wallace, Sow, and Jared Wilson are all interior guys. You need more tackle depth there.
“While Lowe hasn’t really played in the spring, I think given his experience, his length, he played through injury last year. That’s something this coaching staff would appreciate and respect. I think he would be your backup tackle along with kind of that swing person in Caedan Wallace.”
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Special teams (3): Andres Borregales, Julian Ashby, Bryce Baringer
Defensive line (6): Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Joshua Farmer, Khyiris Tonga, Jeremiah Pharms, Jaquelin Roy
“Not a lot of like, 330-pounders there so sort of eat things up on the interior the way we were used to seeing from Bill Belichick types of defenses in the past,” Perry said. “They’re looking for violent guys, guys that are gonna have strong hands and know how to use those hands, and play with relentless motors. I think those guys fit that bill.”
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Outside linebacker (5): Harold Landry, Keion White, Anfernee Jennings, Bradyn Swinson, K’Lavon Chaisson
“Bradyn Swinson out of LSU, we’re gonna keep him on the roster,” Perry said. “Day 3 pick, one of the steals of the draft according to many. We’re putting him on the roster here based purely on that kind of projection alone. We didn’t see a whole lot, in my opinion, from Swinson as a pass-rusher this spring. Let’s see what it looks like with the pads on.”
Inside linebacker (3): Robert Spillane, Jack Gibbens, Christian Elliss
“We’ll see what that injury that (Jahlani Tavai) suffered in the spring will mean for him and his availability early in the season,” Perry said. “You may see him on some kind of reserve list for training camp. That is not based on anything I have heard of late, but he’s out there just watching.
“He’s on his own two feet and he is wearing nothing but a sleeve on his injured leg, but for this 53, we’re projecting that he wouldn’t be available.”
Cornerback (5): Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III, Marcus Jones, Marcellas Dial, Alex Austin
“Marcus Jones made a really nice play on Kyle Williams, ripping the football away on a target into back corner of the end zone,” Perry said. “Looked like Kyle Williams had it for a touchdown. No, no, no. Marcus Jones gets his hand in there and is able to rip it out. Some good strength from the diminutive defensive back there.”
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Safety (6): Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Dell Pettus, Craig Woodson, Brenden Schooler, Jaylinn Hawkins
“If Tavai is healthy, maybe you lop one off here, but I like most of these players,” Perry said. “If I had to remove one from that (safety) group, it would probably be (Marcus) Epps. But he has some background with guys on this coaching staff and has played a lot of football. I can see them seeing him as a useful player.
“It’s just, it’s such a deep group, and I don’t know if he’s giving you more on special teams than somebody like a Hawkins or a Pettus.”
Also in the episode:
- Takeaways from Patriots minicamp: Offense improves but still a lot of work to do to get to where they want to be in the regular season.
- No-huddle period miscommunication between Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry and Drake Maye.
- Why Perry is concerned about the interior offensive line.
- Patriots secondary looked NASTY! Christian Gonzalez the MVP of minicamp.
- Drake Maye discusses being a leader and benefit of being hard on teammates.
- Mailbag!
- Kendrick Bourne not a lock to make the roster.
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