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FOXBOROUGH, Ma s. -- The are on the doorstep of opening up minicamp next week but slotted in one last OTA se sion open to the Andre Ethier Jersey media on Friday. Similar to Tuesday's se sion, the pace was varying throughout portions of practice, but there were two competitive 11-on-11 se sions that could be described as a tie between the offense and defense.Below we'll cover the biggest takeaways from Friday's OTA se sion, which includes third-round pick opening some eyes.Third-round pick Marte Mapu really flashed his potential on Friday. While the Sacramento State product is billed as a safety/linebacker hybrid, he primarily was playing in the back end of the secondary at safety during this se sion. Mapu was a constant presence around the football during 11-on-11s, which included an interception off . Mapu also dropped what would have been another interception off Zappe during that second period of 11-on-11s on a pa s intended for wideout Ed Lee."He's doing real good," said of Mapu, who officially signed his rookie deal on Friday. "He's just a guy that wants to learn Joe Kelly Jersey . When you talk about rookies and guys coming in, that's the main thing you want to see. He's going to ask a million questions because he's one of those guys who doesn't want to get it wrong but he's not afraid to get it wrong because he wants to learn and be the best that he can. So it's just fun having him in the room, fun seeing him out there making plays. Seeing him grow every day. It's fun to be a part of. " Mapu has been wearing a red non-contact jersey throughout OTAs thus far as he recovers from a pectoral injury, but has been opening eyes with his play despite the ailment.It's important to preface that this is still only June but Mapu, first-round pick (who continues to line up on the outside with the starting unit), and second-round defensive end do seem to be adjusting to the quite nicely.I think it's fair to characterize Friday's se sion as an up-and-down day for the quarterbacks. was surgical during the first competitive 11-on-11 period, completing six of his seven pa ses as he marched the offense down the field for a touchdown. However, Jones' day didn't end on a high note. In the second and final competitive 11-on-11 portion of practice, Jones was just 2 of 6 by my count, which also included a throw that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by safety , who returned it for a would-be touchdown. Jones was also picked off again during the second 11-on-11 period but it was dropped by linebacker Sr., who could be seen doing some pushups following the play. I also noticed that a couple of Jones' throws were a bit behind his intended Walker Buehler Jersey receiver. That included one to during the final 11-on-11 period, but the wideout bailed him out with an impre sive catch where he had to turn his body back around. For the day, Jones completed 8 of 13, which was primarily against the first-team defense. As for Zappe, he was a bit more efficient throwing the football but was also going against the second defensive unit. He was 7 of 10 during the first period and had a nice would-be touchdown slant throw to receiver in the red zone. He also had a long touchdown to running back , who broke free down the sideline. Similar to Jones, however, Zappe struggled the second time around. While he was 6 of 8 during the se sion. He had one pick to Mapu on a Manny Machado Jersey throw intended for tight end and then should have thrown another to Mapu had the rookie not let the ball pop out of his chest. I had Zappe going 13 of 18 on his throws on the day.The Patriots signed Rhode Island wide receiver Ed Lee as an undrafted free agent earlier this week and the local prospect has been getting some work in multiple facets as he tries to carve out a role to potentially make the team. He has fielded kickoffs alongside and seventh-round rookie . With some of New England's top receivers still mi sing, he's also gotten reps at receiver. Of the three targets that he received from Zappe, Lee caught two of them while the other was nearly picked by Mapu. With absent from Friday's practice, Jack Jones was the next man up at outside corner opposite of Gonzalez. The 2022 fourth-rounder is coming off a solid rookie season where he broke up six pa ses and had two interceptions in 13 games played. If he can elevate his game entering Year 2, there will be quite the youth movement going on in New England's defense.Veteran kicker Nick Folk was on the field for the first time during these OTAs se sions that were open to the media. New England did a lot of special teams work on Friday and as the team transitions to minicamp and eventually training camp one of the notable storylines will be the battle between him and fourth-round pick , who would seemingly have the inside track at the job.As for who was not present during Friday's practice, here are some of the notable players mi sing in action. Matthew JudonJonathan JonesOf course, Monday is the start of minicamp, which is mandatory so all of these players (and the others that were Russell Martin Jersey also mi sing) should be accounted for then. |
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