FOXBOROUGH – The rain made for a sparse crowd during Thursday’s first padded practice at Gillette, but those that braved the elements saw some encouraging signs.

Christian Gonzalez was a full participant and looked damn good too. Drake Maye and AJ Brown connected on a few red zone touchdowns and a few others popped at their positions as well.

Here’s what stood out in our latest camp rundown:

All good for now with Gonzo

Not only did Christian Gonzalez participate in every aspect of the 2-ish hour practice (probably closer to an 1:45), but he stood out. The very first 7-on-7 rep had him matched up with AJ Brown and Gonzalez came away with a PBU, it was one of two for him on the day.

All the questions continue to have positive answers when it comes to Gonzalez and the team. Pads should be back on again Friday, no reason to believe anything changes and I’m now back to believing a deal must be imminent.

Maye and Brown money where it counts

Thursday looked more like what we saw in minicamp than the first four days.

While the deep ball connection is certainly a work in progress, the team worked primarily on half of the field, mostly inside the 25 and often inside the red zone. Maye hit Brown for two different touchdowns on slants (possibly an RPO on one, Maye got rid of it so quickly it was hard to tell). Brown also had a grab over Gonzalez at one point too.

Money is earned in the red zone and as long as these two are fine down there, the deep stuff will come, This was the most encouraging day for that connection since we saw them for two days in June.

Run game stifled by D-line, pass protection holds up well

There were two runs that stood out to me and that’s it: The first was a big run for TreVeyon Henderson right up the gut through a huge hole. The second was a nice outside TD run for Rhamondre Stevenson where Efton Chism did a nice job sealing off the outside so he could get to the pylon. Other than that, there wasn’t much room as the D-line held its ground.

On the flip side, QBs had some time to throw on Thursday. Morgan Moses practiced in full, which is going to be key. When Caleb Lomu was in, he was noticeable, pancaking a defender on a run at one point. There should be good back and forth between both of those units all summer long. 

Punt return guys

Marcus Jones, Romeo Doubs, Chism, Pop Douglas and Kobe Prentice fielded punts during a very early special teams period. Always a bunch of bodies in the group during camp, it’s Marcus Jones’ job until he gives the organization a reason to give it to someone else. 

Boutte questions still swirling & Williams has his first big day

This was the quietest day for Kayshom Boutte by far after four straight days where he was easily the team’s best receiver. Mike Vrabel and Boutte both spoke on Thursday too. Vrabel said they’re always trying to improve the position when asked about the crowed room. Boutte said “I’m here till I ain’t,” when talking about the trade rumors that continue to swirl.

I would absolutely keep him on this team, but I’m not in the front office for a reason (and I’m terrible at math). Boutte is most likely going to get traded in the coming days or weeks, you just hope it’s not a force and both sides end up benefiting from it. Boutte has busted his ass to become one of the better stories in the NFL over the last couple of years.

Kyle Williams finally had a strong day, making a ridiculous one-handed, lunging TD catch on a ball from Tommy DeVito. If I had to guess, I still think he’s on this team and Boutte is not. The organization is still extremely high on Williams and if Boutte’s out, he still slides in. As of now, I can see Chism making the roster as a special teamer, but Williams can’t take a step back on Friday, he’s got to build off of this.

Looking ahead

Back outside behind Gillette for Day 6 on Friday. Should be a beautiful day and a much bigger crowd. Practice starts at 10:15 a.m. again and should run until about 12:15. Gates open for fans at 9:15 a.m.