It’s the biggest week of the summer so far for the Patriots.
New England will finally line up and hit another team – twice actually – over the course of a three day span when the Commanders are in Foxborough Wednesday-Friday. The first time will be a joint practice before the first preseason game Friday night.
We’ll start to learn a lot more in a hurry when the team who made an incredible run to the NFC Championship a year ago and then loaded up in the offseason heads up North.
Here are some intriguing things to keep an eye on if you’re heading down to the final week of practices open to the public:
Drake Maye vs. Jayden Daniels
Obviously. The two guys that will forever be linked along with Caleb Williams in the 2024 draft will see each other for the first time as pros. While Maye had to deal with chaos his first season, Daniels had about as perfect of a rookie year as anyone can have. These two won’t be going directly against each other of course and neither of them will see the field for very long (if at all) on Friday, but it’ll be interesting to see if Maye can elevate his game in Wednesday’s session.
Patriots O-Line vs. the Commanders defensive line
There are still plenty of questions up front and Washington was 12th in total sacks last season with 43. Old friend Deatrich Wise (more on him in a bit) is a new addition to that defense. Will Campbell will get his first look at other NFL speed besides Keion White and K’Lavon Chaisson after struggling at times so far in camp. Garrett Bradbury or Jared Wilson need to take control of the center job and this week would be a good place to start. Mike Onwenu is really the only sure thing at this point.
Patriots defensive line vs. the Commanders O-line
On the flip side, this will be the first time we really see Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Keion White and Harold Landry able to go full force against another opponent. Don’t forget about star running back Brian Robinson too, which will provide a nice test for those guys in the middle and the linebacking core (in terms of tackling in space) led by Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss. The team spent a lot of money on Williams, he needs to have an immediate impact in this aggressive defense.
Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz vs. the Patriots secondary
Assuming the team remains cautious with Christian Gonzalez, then it’ll be free agent signing Carlton Davis III (who also hasn’t been out there much) going up against Samuel in team periods, although Marcus Jones’ speed may mean he gets that duty. If Davis can’t play, Alex Austin and Jones have been the next men up, so it’ll be extremely interesting to see how new DC Terrell Williams approaches defending a Washington passing game that was 7th in total offense a year ago. Terry McLaurin’s holdout certainly makes things a little easier in terms of covering the receivers, but this is a big early test for the new look unit, especially if both Gonzalez and Davis III sit out. If they don’t, then obviously Gonzalez vs. Samuel is a marquee matchup. As far as Ertz goes, Spillane could take that role, or perhaps Marte Mapu.
Jonathan Jones and Deatrich Wise return
It’ll be a feel good moment when both Jones and Wise jog back up the steps for the first time prior to Wednesday’s practice. Both guys were ultimate professionals through some pretty rough days here and constantly wore a smile in the locker room while others certainly weren’t as happy to be in the building every day. Not only that, but they went to Washington for a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl and will certainly be looking to make a statement against their former team.