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By John Sarianides

The Patriots officially opened their mandatory three day mini-camp yesterday but they will hit the field today in soggy Foxboro. Here are five things I will be watching.

1. Quarterback Reps: Brady is healthy and eligible to play going into this season but it will still be interesting to see how the Patriots divide up the reps between the three quarterbacks. Mini-camp can be a difficult balance for the offensive coaching staff between reviewing the base offense and installing new plays for camp. My guess is they’ll probably give Brady 60% of the starter reps, Garoppolo 30% of the starter reps and Jacoby Brissett 10% of the starter reps.

2. State of the Gronk: Rob Gronkowski claims he is healthy and ready to go. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said that Gronk looks like Gronk so far this off-season. We will find out this week just how healthy Gronk is. If he is cleared and ready to go, you will see him participate in all phases of practice. If he is not, he will probably sit out certain portions of practice.

3. Too Many “Cooks” in the Kitchen: The Patriots added Brandin Cooks to their receiving corp this season but it will be interesting to see how they divide up the reps between the receivers. We know Cooks, Julien Edelman, Danny Amendola and newly acquired Andrew Hawkins will get the bulk of the reps this week but how many reps will Austin Carr get? The Patriots like him. We know Malcolm Mitchell won’t get any reps. He is still nursing an injury.

I am curious to see what personnel groupings the Patriots use and how they divide up the reps between the tight ends, receivers and running backs within the groupings.

4. Running Back Rotation: Who is the Patriots starting running back right now? I don’t know? Do you? I think we will get more clarity this week. Expect Mike Gillislee, Rex Burkhead, Dion Lewis, James White and D.J Foster to all get carries provided they are healthy. I am once again curious to see how the Patriots use them within their formations and personnel packages.

5. The Secondary Firm of Butler and Gilmore CB: Malcolm Butler and Stephon Gilmore will form one of the best cornerback duos in the league this season. It will be interesting to see how Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia employ them. Will they both exclusively play outside or will it depend on the formation and opponent? Will they travel and match-up depending on who the receivers are that week? All questions that need to be answered in some form this week. My guess is Gilmore will line up a lot on the split end side and single receiver side. Butler will play on the flanker side or in the slot.    

Despite the depth and the talent of this Patriots team, there are still several question marks that remain. We will get some answers this week but the picture will become a little clearer once training camp starts.