00:00Welcome into the first training camp practice report of 2025, brought to you by Safety Insurance.
00:05I'm Alex Barth, alongside Scott Zolak here above practice fields at July Stadium.
00:09We're sponsored.
00:10Holy cow, we're sponsored.
00:11Safety Insurance.
00:12Nice.
00:12I know Zoe can't wait to talk some Patriots football, so we'll get right into it.
00:16First day of training camp in the books, and we'll get to Drake May.
00:18Obviously, he's a story.
00:20I actually want to start with the wide receivers today, Zoe.
00:22I thought it was a good day all around, and that starts with Stephon Diggs.
00:25He's cleared for practice, moving around well.
00:27He still caught May's first pass of the summer.
00:30I was impressed by what I saw from him today.
00:32Clearly, still not 100%, but boy, is he far along for a guy eight months off the ACL.
00:37He looks great.
00:38He continues to pick up right where we left off with all the off-season workouts, the videos we've seen, the minicamp stuff.
00:44He's just a different guy.
00:45When watching the drills from up there, you're down closer.
00:48He just moves differently, Alex.
00:50It's going to be fun.
00:51I just hope he stays healthy.
00:53I hope Josh is able to use him the way he did when he had other number one guys,
00:57whether it was Gronkowski, whether it was Edelman back in the day.
01:00Everything looks good.
01:02Everything looks good with him right now.
01:03Something else I really liked from him, I don't know if you got a chance to listen to him after practice talking to the media,
01:09but a really measured approach.
01:11He was kind of asked about picking up the playbook.
01:13He said, I'm still studying.
01:14I'm still learning.
01:15I'm excited for the playbook.
01:16He was at success, but I'm still learning.
01:18He was asked about just kind of rehabbing off the ACL.
01:20He said, it's taking time.
01:21I'm putting the time in.
01:22I'm making the progress.
01:23His approach as a whole, he mentioned, don't ride the roller coaster, right?
01:27You've got to trust the process.
01:28He trusts the process of that.
01:30It's a real 180 from last year when we had these receivers talking about, well, you know, we're underrated as a group.
01:36We're one of the best groups in the league.
01:38Jalen Polk, I have the best hands in the league, right?
01:40And when you talk about what Diggs is going to bring, not just on the field but off,
01:43that felt like an example of his approach, a more patient, day-to-day approach, not looking for that home run right away.
01:51You hope that's something he's instilling, not just in the receivers but everybody, but in these young receivers off the field.
01:57He's a good interviewer, period.
01:58I think he wants to give you a lot.
02:00I think he's being careful.
02:01Like, he's trying to pace himself, too.
02:03I think he's excited to be here.
02:05I think he feels good, which makes him look good, talk good, all of it.
02:08Like, it all comes with you.
02:09You know, he's got that swagger, and that's going to be good for Drake.
02:13It really is a guy in his ear, too.
02:15Having a good guy that he can throw to.
02:17He's got a good rapport on Hunter Henry.
02:19And I just think, you know, you're going to have to spread the ball on this offense.
02:22It's not going to be just one guy you're going to throw to.
02:24And Josh won't let him do that.
02:26Josh will make him spread it out.
02:27And that's how you keep the defense balanced.
02:29So that's something I like from Drake May today.
02:31In the spring, it felt very, Hunter Henry was pop Douglas, heavy volume.
02:35Those guys both had catches today, but no receiver in more than two catches.
02:38The only guys that had two were Diggs and Kyle Williams, who we'll get to.
02:42I think that's an encouraging sign for Drake May, that he's comfortable.
02:45That shows a comfort in the offense to me, that he's not just throwing to the same guys repeatedly,
02:49but he's really spreading the ball around.
02:50Yeah, and that's going to be imperative for him, too, to lower the turnovers.
02:55I'm not worried about that with Drake.
02:56I didn't see him make the second mistake over and over again.
02:59Like, he corrected his mistakes.
03:00He would make different ones.
03:02But advancing his thing as he goes, that's all going to help him.
03:06And then incorporating the run, I think having a good third down back now with Henderson here,
03:10like, that's going to help him a ton.
03:12They didn't have that last year.
03:13You mentioned not repeating the mistakes.
03:14His one iffy throw, he said after practice, he liked to have it back.
03:17He had Paul Douglas on a deep crosser in the first 11-on-11, underthrew it,
03:21probably should have been there.
03:21He had to take the shots, man.
03:22He had to take some shots.
03:23Now's the time to make the mistakes.
03:25And so he comes back in that next period.
03:26Hunter Henry with Robert Spillane right on him, up the seam, boom, on the back shoulder.
03:30Perfect timing.
03:31Perfect placement.
03:32You like that bounce back.
03:33Speaking of that back shoulder throw, Kyle Williams had two catches today.
03:36One where he gets the top of the route on a comeback, beats Christian Gonzalez in the hand fight,
03:40comes back, catches the ball.
03:42Again, no real volume for any of these receivers.
03:45But for what we saw, I thought Kyle Williams had a good first day.
03:47You've got to be able to pluck the football.
03:48That's one thing.
03:49He reminds me of Malcolm Mitchell a little bit.
03:50Because Malcolm used to have the big white hands, the white gloves.
03:53He would snag the ball like that.
03:55Malcolm would catch the ball wherever it was, at its peak, at its lowest point, anything.
03:58Great hands, great hand-eye coordination.
04:01And that's what works in the Josh McDaniels offense.
04:03You've got to be a hands catcher.
04:04Right.
04:04You've got to be a hands catcher.
04:05Do you see any Brady Cooks in his game, Kyle Williams?
04:08No.
04:09I feel like there's a little bit of that smaller X receiver.
04:11To be fair, I haven't watched him close enough yet.
04:13Okay.
04:14I just think that smaller X receiver, that was kind of something that was speculated after the draft pick.
04:18Like, all right, he's not built like an X, but it seems like they want him to play the X.
04:21Dion's another one.
04:22I've heard the Dion comp for him, too.
04:24That's another good comp.
04:24If it's a Dion comp, that's great.
04:26I've heard that one as well.
04:27Dion's a perfect X.
04:29Anything else for you on the offense?
04:30More on Drake May?
04:31I mean, the catch that was on the back shoulder there that he plucked, it would have been a sack because there was a blitz.
04:36Yeah.
04:36I think 87 missed the block at the time.
04:38Phil Perry alerted me to that.
04:40I thought that was it.
04:42And you're going to have those run-throughs on defense.
04:44You're going to get the pads on Monday.
04:46But I think these next four days are just install a little bit, do your drills.
04:49It wasn't a big team-heavy period here to end the practice.
04:53So those will increase as it goes.
04:54I will say the defense looks fast.
04:56And we'll see how that holds up when the pads come on.
04:58Athletic.
04:59They got quicker on defense in the offseason.
05:01That was a goal, and you saw it today.
05:02One more thing on the offense for me.
05:04Jared Wilson got some reps as the starting center, the rookie.
05:07We saw him rotate in.
05:09I think that's a real competition.
05:10It's a kid from Georgia, right?
05:10Yeah.
05:11Georgia center's worked out well here in the past, right?
05:13They like him.
05:14Yes.
05:14I think he has a real chance to start week one.
05:16That feels like a real competition to me.
05:18Everybody's talking about left guard.
05:19It was Cole Strange today pretty much the whole day.
05:21I'm not saying that's not a competition.
05:23I wouldn't be surprised if Strange is some competition at some point.
05:26I think Garrett Bradbury and Jared Wilson is a real back and forth.
05:29That's interesting.
05:30It's interesting because, you know, I'm for picking five guys and rolling with them.
05:34I think if you keep substituting them, you don't get used to playing.
05:36No, you want the continuity.
05:37Yeah, I want continuity.
05:38I think that's been a big problem here.
05:40Too many musical chairs both to tackle in both guard positions.
05:43Yeah.
05:44All right.
05:44But we might have a center battle coming.
05:46We'll have more on that.
05:47Big center battle.
05:48Barth will be knocking them around.
05:49You know I'm all over center battle.
05:50Anything on the defense before we wrap it up?
05:52I'm with you.
05:53They look athletic.
05:54They look athletic.
05:55I think it's good to have Tyrell Williams back.
05:57You know, to have him actually out there instead of on Zoom, that'll do wonders for them.
06:00Yeah, hand-to-hand, being able to grab guys and coach them.
06:04Having him back, they got Kyle Duggar back.
06:06He was limited all spring.
06:07Marcus Epps, another safety, was limited all spring.
06:09He's back.
06:10But those guys, again, will come into the picture more.
06:12When the pads come on in a few days, we'll have plenty more to get to.
06:14Before that, Zoe and I will be back with you each day after training camp.
06:17Every day?
06:18Every day.
06:19Well, I don't think you're here on the weekends.
06:20Yeah, you won't see me.
06:21I'll have somebody else on the weekends.
06:23I'll miss you, Zoe.
06:23But I'll be here every day.
06:24Zoe will be here every weekday to recap these practices, go over what we saw.
06:27And, of course, myself, Matt Dolph, we have plenty more coming on 98.5thesportshub.com
06:32and more coverage on the Sports Hub YouTube channel.
06:34So, Zoe, we'll get back to it tomorrow.
06:36Sounds good, man.
06:36Until then, for Scott Zolak, I'm Alex Barth.
06:38Thanks for tuning in again.
06:39We'll be back tomorrow with Patriots practice training camp practice report brought to you
06:43by Safety Insurance.
