While Gillette Stadium has remained busy the past few weeks, the New England Patriots are officially off on their summer break.
Before we do the same — there are only so many Patriots talking points available between now and training camp — let’s clean out the notebook from the last weeks of the spring. Welcome to the latest edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.
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Showstoppers
The Patriots defense played its best football of the season down the stretch last year.
For cornerback Carlton Davis, that group of “showstoppers” now has a chance to build on that momentum entering 2026.
“I feel like we’re coming right in where we left off, playing at a high level [with] good chemistry,” he said. “It’s just so good to have all the guys back. When you have everybody here, you just can feel the momentum that we had for last year. And even the new additions are coming in with the same mentality. So yeah, it’s been fun.”
That late-season success was especially evident in the secondary. New England leaned into the unit during the playoffs, increasing its man-coverage rate, and the group rewarded that trust.
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On the way to the Super Bowl, the Patriots defense allowed just 2.7 yards per play while in man coverage — more than a full yard better than the league-leading Chargers defense during the regular season (4.0). Davis, Christian Gonzalez, and Marcus Jones led that charge, as the trio allowed a passer rating of just 48.2 and a 39.3 percent completion rate in man coverage.
An increase in ball production followed as well, leaving Davis confident the Patriots can field one of the NFL’s premier secondaries this season.
“Coach always says stay away from predictions and stuff,” Davis said. “But I just want to say our confidence is high. It’s really high. I want us to be the strength of the defense.”
While New England will again rely heavily on its top cornerback trio, the team added veteran safety Kevin Byard behind them in free agency.
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Byard joins second-year pro Craig Woodson on the backend, giving the Patriots a safety tandem that has only increased the confidence level throughout the secondary.
“He brings what every great safety would bring to a defense: communication, knowledge, experience, ball skills. You can name it, he’s done it,” Davis said. “He’s just given us all a little more confidence, knowing he’s back there, and he’s orchestrating the show.”
Rookie work
While the veterans are off on break, the Patriots rookie class stayed behind in Foxboro this past week. As usual, work continued in meetings while the group got a chance to continue to connect off the field as they took a trip to Fenway Park on Thursday before taking part in the Juneteenth Community Football Clinic at Newton North on Friday.
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“This rookie class is awesome. All the people are super close,” first round pick Caleb Lomu said. “This week of just rookies, all the vets are already out and all that. It’s been awesome being able to work out, do what we need to do, and then be able to do things like this.”
During the event on Friday, second-round pick Gabe Jacas was the lone rookie not in attendance.
Will and Jared
The Patriots coaching staff has seen growth in their second-year wide receivers this offseason. That also rings true for their second-year offensive lineman, Will Campbell and Jared Wilson.
“I think just maturity. I think he’s studying the game. He’s trying different things. Spring is the time to try things,” Mike Vrabel said of Campbell. “He’s working on different sets, working on different techniques. I think at the line of scrimmage, it’s so much not the first technique, but it’s the secondary response. Both guys aren’t going to have their hands inside. The D-lineman isn’t going to have their hands inside and the offensive lineman. So, somebody’s going to have to do something to change that, to get back in the correct position.
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“I think he’s worked hard, conditioning, pushing himself and pushing that group. I think it’s been really good to see him and Jared [Wilson] push that group. So, I’m excited about that.”
TE interest
Julian Hill’s season-ending injury appears to have put the Patriots back in the tight end market, as Mike Vrabel acknowledged the position is “probably somewhere where we would have to address.”
Among the free-agent options is former Patriot Pharaoh Brown, whose skill set makes sense as an in-line tight end with blocking ability. Brown appears to be on board with the idea as well, responding this past week to a comment about the Patriots potentially signing the 32-year-old.
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“I’d prefer that signing as well,” Brown replied with the eyeballs emoji. “I didn’t know I was that young. I’m still a spring chicken lol.”
Potential X-factor
With plenty of question marks along the edge this offseason, the Patriots signed Xavier Holmes after he participated in rookie minicamp as a tryout player. Positional coach Mike Smith was originally surprised by the rookie.
“He’s one that shocked me,” Smith said. “You know, those guys that just get that tryout, it’s not a priority free agent. I mean, that’s a tough deal to do and to make it. But what I saw from him, a bigger guy that can move. He’s got some athletic ability, more than people think. Running his tail off to the ball. He’s in there asking questions, asking good questions.
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“I get a feeling in my stomach sometimes. Not always right. Nobody’s [always] right. But there’s something about him that I like, and there’s something about him that he seems tough.”
Holmes, who Smith acknowledged has plenty of work to do when the pads come on, began his collegiate career in Maine where he earned Second Team All-CAA honors. He eventually transferred to James Madison and posted six sacks.
“X was a productive college player,” Vrabel said. “There’s a lot of reasons guys fall through the draft or maybe don’t sign as a free agent. He came here. You’re just looking for little things. Are they coachable? They make a mistake, and can they correct it? You look at effort, you look at skill set. Sometimes when they’re doing the drills, X was able to do that. Most of the guys, you have to do something to kind of stand out, and he did that.”
Setting up the week ahead
The Patriots’ offseason workout program was originally scheduled to end this week, but Mike Vrabel decided to cut it short by scrapping three OTA practices and moving mandatory minicamp up a week. That means summer break has already begun.
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At Pats Pulpit, meanwhile, we will tone things down a bit, too. That said, we will still provide you with daily coverage, including additional offseason wrap-up coverage, training camp previews, and our roster scouting report series. So, make sure to stay tuned.
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