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7 performances of note from the Patriots’ final minicamp practice

For one final time this spring, the New England Patriots took the lower practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Thursday. The third and final session of this year’s mandatory minicamp was a 180-degree turn from Wednesday’s: while that took place at a walkthrough pace, the team increased both its intensity and competition significantly to close out its offseason program.

For a comprehensive recap of the practice, please head over to our Patriots minicamp notebook. Here is who caught our eye, for better or worse.

Standout of the day

WR A.J. Brown: The Patriots’ high-profile trade acquisition finished the day with two touchdowns among three total receptions from Drake Maye, including an impressive grab in the back corner of the end zone that very much can be seen as the play of the day. Maye showed some tremendous anticipation and trust in his newest weapon, letting the ball go before Brown had even turned and despite him being tightly covered by Craig Woodson.

It mattered not, because the veteran receiver turned just in time and high-pointed the ball for the score. It was another promising display of the two developing some nice early chemistry.

“Great ball. Back. shoulder. I just kind of turned my head,” Brown later recalled about the play. “My background, playing baseball in center field, turned over the shoulder, looking over the shoulder. That’s a tough catch.”

Other performances of note

Backup QBs: While Drake Maye had another efficient day at the office, his backups did not enjoy the same success. Tommy DeVito and Behren Morton both struggled with accuracy late during the session, and between them ended minicamp with seven straight incompletions: DeVito’s final four passes all hit the turf, as did Morton’s last three. Obviously, mistakes like those are a key part of spring practices, but you nonetheless would still like to see the two head into summer break on a higher note.

Second-year WRs: A.J. Brown stole the show, but he was not the only wide receiver standing out in a positive fashion on Thursday. Second-year wideouts Kyle Williams and Efton Chism also caught the eye, primarily because they saw some reps with Drake Maye and the first-string offense. Neither registering any receptions from the starting QB in competitive drills, but they did both find the end zone on passes from Tommy DeVito — something that was also true for fellow sophomore Jeremiah Webb.

TE Eli Raridon: With Jack Westover absent for undisclosed reasons, the Patriots’ third-round draft pick saw an increased workload and some more time with Drake Maye and the top offense. He did catch one quarterback, but also saw an incompletion come his way that led to a quick huddle with Maye. Still, the reps are valuable and Raridon saw a lot of them on Thursday.

ED Bradyn Swinson: The Patriots originally were scheduled to practice until around 2:50 p.m. ET, but they decided to call the session early after a collision involving Drake Maye. The Pro Bowl quarterback got tangled up with second-year pass rusher Bradyn Swinson, an incident that left both players on the ground before popping back up without any visible damage done. Still, contact is a no-no in the offseason especially involving the starting QB. There was no ill intent, but Swinson still needs to err on the side of caution a bit more than that.

LB Chad Muma: With Robert Spillane a limited participant to close out the spring, the Patriots redistributed his starter-level reps at the off-ball linebacker position. The primary benefactor of that was Chad Muma, the 2025 in-season addition who mostly played special teams for New England last year. At least on Thursday, he was heavily involved on defense as well: Muma wore the green dot on his helmet as the unit’s on-field signal caller and also registered a pass breakup. An active day for a player seemingly on the roster bubble.

CB Kindle Vildor: Christian Gonzalez again did not participate in competitive team drills, which in turn opened the door for free agency signing Kindle Vildor to yet again see quality reps with the starting defense. Vildor performed well, providing tight coverage on an incomplete fade intended for Mack Hollins. He did give up the last touchdown to A.J. Brown, but overall was competitive.

And with that concludes the Patriots’ mandatory minicamp and offseason workout program as a whole. The team will now head off to a multi-week summer break before reconvening at Gillette Stadium in late July for the start of training camp.

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