Patriots Training Camp Day 6 Observations: Mack Wilson shines, Ty Montgomery calls for a roster spot

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Patriots Training Camp rolls in with the second day of padded drills. As for the great majority of the camp, the defense continued to be strong and caused some headaches on the offensive. However, there were some flashes from the group, particularly at the wide receiver’s position in contested catch situations.

Below are the latest highlights from Day 6 of Pats Camp:

Big day for the linebackers

As we noted in the intro, it was a strong start for the Patriots defense. On Tuesday, the linebackers really stood out with several stunning plays. In particular, veteran linebacker Mack Wilson — acquired this offseason in a trade with the Cleveland Browns with passrusher Chase Winovich — was arguably the best of the group, making plays all over the field.

Early on in 11-on-11, Wilson broke a jump pass on a shot by rookie Bailey Zappe. He also had a “sack” on Mac Jones in another set of competitive drills coming off the left side of the line. Perhaps his best game of the day came in the final set of 11 seconds as the team worked in the red zone and music blared out of the speakers to simulate noisy environments. There he slammed back and ran back at JJ Taylor in what was the loudest hit of the day.

Elsewhere at the linebacker spot, Matt Judon and Ja’Whaun Bentley were both capable of flushing Jones out of the bag during 11-on-11s and likely would have registered a sack had they been able to pick the quarterback hold true. Raekwon McMillan also stuffed Damien Harris into the backfield.

Defensive Line Disruptors

And it wasn’t just the linebackers making noise Tuesday, the defensive line also put up a handful of impactful plays. Lawrence Guy was able to fill the run and beat Isaiah Wynn with an 11-on-11 replay. Henry Anderson also left his mark on the day. During one session, he came in under pressure, forcing Mac Jones to throw the ball away. He later knocked down a ball thrown by Jones at the line of scrimmage.

Outstanding catches by Thornton, Agholor

While defense may have won the day, there were some nice flashes from some players in the offensive ability position. Rookie Tyquan Thornton continues to have a solid start to camp, pulling off a ridiculous one-handed catch in 1v1 drills. He was paired with starting corner Jalen Mills and twisted his body to lean back and do the over-the-shoulder hold. Even Mills couldn’t get excited by that reception and gave a quick smack for the second-round pick after the game ended.

“I think Ty’s a hard worker,” said Mac Jones after practice. “He’s starting to really understand and open up about some of the things that we do. He clearly has the speed to open up and we’ve got a great group of guys and we need to spread the ball between them.”

Receiver colleague Nelson Agholor later got involved with a few highlight catches. During the same 1v1 practice sessions where Thornton made his catch, Agholor caught up with an equally impressive ball. He was paired with corner Joejuan Williams and fended him off with his left arm while bringing the ball up in the air with his right. Agholor also had another strong catch during 11-on-11s, but Jones probably would have been fired if it had been a real game. Still, it was a strong day for some of the Patriots’ deep threats.

What does Bill Belichick love? Versatility. With that in mind, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to imagine veteran receiver/running back Ty Montgomery not making the 53-man roster. While Montgomery is listed as a wideout, New England has used him in competitive drills in a variety of ways at camp. He ran the ball, lined up in the slot and worked wide, reminiscent of when Cordarrelle Patterson was on the team in 2018. Montgomery has also gotten some replays as a returnee.

This ability to wear multiple hats is one of the best ways to endear yourself to Belichick and earn a spot on the week 1 list.

How the QBs fared

The offense appears to be going through some growing pains, and the quarterbacks have been besieged at times during camp. That continued Tuesday when both quarterbacks were forced out of the pocket and got mixed up more than once.

“I think we have a lot of room to grow here,” said Mac Jones after training. “The goal for me is not to run and throw the ball like that. I think our offensive line is doing a good job and we just have to get on the same side.”

During 11-on-11, Jones was 6-of-11 and completed all eight of his pass attempts during 7-on-7. While Jones was perfect through the 7s, most of those passes were high-percentage throws to the flat. Meanwhile, Bailey Zappe was 5-of-7 in 7-on-7 and 9-of-12 in 11-on-11.

participation

The newest Patriots member missing from action Tuesday was Dalton Keene. Quarterback Brian Hoyer, running back James White and guards Chasen Hines and Andrew Stueber were also absent. Passrusher Deatrich Wise was there, but worked his way to the side.

Regarding Hoyer, Bill Belichick said he expects the quarterback to return to practice “fairly soon.”