Everything You Need to Know About Patriots Training Camp 2018
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
Everything You Need to Know About Patriots Training Camp 2018
From significant players leaving in free agency to players skipping offseason workouts, New England’s 2018 training camp is shaping up to be an interesting one.
"I mean every year has different challenges, you know? There are some years where, I mean obviously this team has very high expectations. We're trying to win every game. That's what our goals are. I think those things we have a lot of time to work on literally. Figuratively there's a long way to go. We've got a lot of work to do and it's going to be up to us individually to prepare as best we can and then collectively when we come together we do the same," said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady following a mini-camp session on June 7.
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After losing the Super Bowl to the Eagles, the Patriots saw key offensive players such as Nate Solder, Danny Amendola, and Dion Lewis leave via free agency, while New England traded away Brandin Cooks and released tight end, Martellus Bennett.
To replace them, the Patriots signed wide receivers Jordan Matthews and Cordarrelle Patterson, as well as, running back Jeremy Hill.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots lost cornerback Malcolm Butler to free agency and released linebacker Shea McClellin.
New England has signed defensive end Adrian Clayborn, defensive lineman Danny Shelton and defensive back Jason McCourty to strengthen the defense.
These players and more will all be on display when camp begins.
See Everything You Need to Know About Patriots 2018 Training Camp in the Slideshow Below
Everything You Need to Know About Patriots Training Camp 2018
Training Camp Dates Open to Public
Gates will open one hour before practice and close one hour after practice ends.
Practice schedule throughout training camp is subject to change at any time.
See the schedule below:
July 26 | Practice Time - 9:15 AM
July 27 | Practice Time - 9:15 AM
July 28 | Practice Time - 9:15 AM
July 29 | Practice Time - 9:15 AM
New Faces From Draft
The Patriots added a total of nine players in the 2018 NFL Draft.
First Round
The New England Patriots drafted guard Isaiah Wynn out of Georgia with the #23 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
At Georgia, Wynn made 39 starts at left tackle to help the Bulldogs to the 2017 SEC Championship.
According to Pro Football Focus, Wynn allowed just five pressures during the 2017 season, and just 26 pressures in his 2,609 college snaps.
The New England Patriots selected Georgia running back Sony Michel with the 31st overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
In four seasons with Georgia, Michel rushed for over 3,638 yards and 33 touchdowns on 591 carries.
In his senior season, Michel rushed for 1,227 yards and 16 touchdowns to help Georgia win the SEC Championship.
He averaged 7.9 yards per carry.
Michel also has shown the ability to be effective in the passing game. In his college career, he hauled in 64 passes for 621 yards and six touchdowns in his career.
2nd Round
The Patriots selected Florida cornerback Duke Dawson with the 56th overall pick.
Dawson is a 5’11” slot corner who was named first-team SEC in his senior season.
In his final year at Florida, Dawson recorded four interceptions and 13 passes defended.
5th Round
The Patriots picked Purdue's Ja'whaun Bentley with the 143rd overall pick.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bentley is the top linebacker when it comes to stopping the run.
As a senior, he was named all-conference honorable mention by coaches in the Big 10 after recording 89 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for a loss, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception return for a touchdown.
6th Round
New England picked linebacker Christian Sam with the 178 overall pick (sixth round).
Sam is expected to compete with Marquis Flowers, Elandon Roberts and Bentley for one of the backup spots behind Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy.
6th Round
The Patriots selected Braxton Berrios with the 210 overall pick (round 6).
He is a slot wide receiver from the University of Miami.
At Miami, he appeared in 46 games with 20 starts, hauling in 100 catches for 1,175 yards and nine touchdowns.
He can also return punts as he averaged 15.9 yards per punt return in college.
7th Round
The Patriots picked quarterback Danny Etling in the seventh round.
7th Round
The Patriots selected cornerback Keion Crossen in the seventh round.
At Western Carolina, Crossen played in 46 career games with 23 starts.
He recorded 165 tackles, one sack, five tackles for loss, three interceptions, 19 passes defensed and one forced fumble, as well as, two fumble recoveries
7th Round
The Patriots selected tight end Ryan Izzo with the 250th overall pick.
At Florida State, Izzo appeared in 41 games with 36 starts.
He hauled in 54 career passes for 761 yards and six touchdowns. His 761 receiving yards rank third most in program history among tight ends.
New Faces From Signings
This offseason the Patriots have brought in eight new players by either trade or free agency.
The Patriots acquired wide receiver and kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson from the Oakland Raiders.
Last season in Oakland, Patterson played in all 16 games with two starts and caught 31 passes for 309 yards, had 13 rushing attempts for 121 yards and two touchdowns and returned 19 kicks for 538 yards.
In mid-March, the Patriots acquired Devin McCourty’s brother, Jason, from the Cleveland Browns. McCourty will add depth to the secondary, who will look to replace Malcolm Butler.
The last player that the Patriots acquired via trade is defensive lineman Danny Shelton.
Last season, Shelton started all 14 games that he played in and finished with 33 total tackles.
In his career, he has played in 46 NFL games and has 128 total tackles, but only 1 1/2 sacks.
In free agency, the most notable player that the Patriots picked up was former Atlanta Falcons defensive end Adrian Clayborn.
Last season with Atlanta, Clayborn played in all 16 games with two starts and finished with a career-high 9½ sacks.
Who is Gone
This offseason was a bit of a mass exodus from New England.
It started in mid-March when wide receiver Danny Amendola announced that he was leaving New England to sign a two-year deal worth $12 million with $8.25 million in guarantees with the Miami Dolphins.
On the same day Amendola left, Malcolm Butler signed a 5-Year Deal Worth $61 Million with the Tennessee Titans.
His departure comes as no surprise after he was benched for the Patriots Super Bowl loss to the Eagles.
Running back Dion Lewis would join Butler in Tennessee on a four-year deal.
Arguably the biggest loss of the Patriots offseason was left tackle Nate Solder.
Solder signed a four-year deal worth $62 million, with $35 million guaranteed with the New York Giants. The deal made Solder the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL.
Following those losses, the Patriots traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the LA Rams for the #23 overall draft pick.
Position Battles
Running Back
While James White's role on the team is locked up, there are questions surrounding the roles of Rex Burkhead, Mike Gillislee and first-round pick Sony Michel.
Burkhead was effective last season for New England when he was healthy. In his first season with the Patriots, he played in ten games and accumulated 264 rushing yards and 254 receiving yards.
Gillislee played in just nine games for the Patriots last season, making only two starts after coming over from Buffalo. Gillislee will need a strong camp and preseason in order to lock up his role on the team.
Michel comes to the Patriots from the University of Georgia where he rushed for over 3,638 yards and 33 touchdowns on 591 carries in four seasons.
“We think that he is a pretty good football player so we picked the player. He’s got skills, he’s athletic, he’s good in space, he is a strong runner for his size of 210, 215 pounds, whatever he is so our thing is to pick good football players that have good traits,” said Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio.
Jeremy Hill was also added in the offseason, though he enters training camp behind White, Michel, Burkhead and Gillislee
Weaknesses
Left Tackle
With Nate Solder no longer protecting Tom Brady's blindside, the left tackle position is now a concern.
Marcus Cannon is a candidate to fill the role, as he did at times last year.
During the draft, the Patriots traded for Trent Brown, a left tackle with the San Francisco 49ers. Brown played in ten game last season with the 49ers, and appears to be the favorite to get the job.
The Patriots also looked to fill the role via the NFL Draft by selecting Isaiah Wynn from Georgia.
"Isaiah has a lot of experience, started for three years, he has played both guard, he’s played tackle, he has played multiple spots and has been productive in both of those areas. He’s a good player, has good traits and was in a good program. He had to block a lot of good people in that conference," said Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio in his post-draft press conference at Gillette Stadium
In college, Wynn made 39 starts at left tackle to help the Bulldogs to the 2017 SEC Championship.
According to Pro Football Focus, Wynn allowed just five pressures during the 2017 season, and just 26 pressures in his 2,609 college snaps.
Slot Receiver (at least for the first 4 games)
Julian Edelman is suspended for the first four games of the season due to PED use, and Danny Amendola left to sign with Miami.
Meaning the Patriots have an issue at the slot receiver position.
Of the Patriots returning receivers, Chris Hogan has the most experience working with Tom Brady and likely will see some time in the slot.
Phillip Dorsett returns to the Patriots this season, but mostly saw time as an outside receiver.
One sleeper to make the team and fill the role is sixth-round draft pick Braxton Berrios out of Miami.
At Miami, he appeared in 46 games with 20 starts, hauling in 100 catches for 1,175 yards and nine touchdowns.
“This guy’s really, really smart. He graduated in, I want to say three to three-and-a-half years, whatever it was. Played inside the formation at the University of Miami, really productive, really tough, good traits, smart, good quickness, was productive, had more opportunities here this season in Miami and he made the most of them,” said Caserio.
Cornerback
The Patriots secondary got shredded in the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles, giving up 538 total yards, including 374 passing yards.
The Patriots enter training camp with Stephon Gilmore as their top cornerback followed by Erik Rowe and newcomer Jason McCourty.
Rookies Duke Dawson and Keion Crossen could also compete for a role in the secondary.
About Crossen, Caserio said, “The way this guy kind of got on the radar screen initially was he worked out at the Wake Forest Pro Day, so that’s where he showed up and tested extremely well, so a lower level of competition, obviously, at Western Carolina. He showed up on a big stage just from a workout perspective. It really blew it out of the water. He’s undersized, just from a size standpoint, but he’s athletic. He runs well, he’s explosive, he’s really competitive, probably more of a perimeter corner."
On Dawson, Caserio added, “He's played safety, he's played corner, he's played slot corner, so a pretty versatile player. He played in the kicking game a little bit, so he has a lot of experience doing multiple things. We'll put him in the mix with everybody else in the secondary and see how it goes."
Patriots Odds to Win Superbowl
Despite losing the Super Bowl last season, the Patriots are still big favorites to win Super Bowl 53.
According to the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book, the Patriots are 6-1 favorites to win the Super Bowl.
The Eagles, Steelers, Minnesota, and Rams all follow at 10-1.
The last team to make it back to the Super Bowl after losing it the year before was the 1994 Buffalo Bills.
