5 most important Patriots’ competitions this summer

The competition of training camp is now barely two weeks away in New England, as it is in 31 other locales across the NFL!

Jerod Mayo’s new-look, new-era Patriots will take to the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium with plenty to prove in so many ways in so many different areas.

There will be lots of camp battles for starting jobs and roster spots as well as regular season roles and reps. In many ways, the results of those competitions could decide how this first season post-Bill Belichick might just play out in Foxborough.

So, as we continue to toil in the downtime of the NFL calendar, here’s a look at the five most important positional competitions that will take place over the next two months in New England leading up to the 2024 season opener in Cincinnati.

1 – Left tackle: Eliot Wolf declared prior to the draft that veteran free agent signing Chukwuma Okorafor could and would get the first shot at New England’s wide open left tackle spot. That was exactly the case this spring in OTAs and mini-camp for the career right tackle. But not until the pads come on and the actually competition begins will we know if Okorafor is actually competent at one of the most important positions in football. If he’s not up to the task, things will have to turn to other options that are anything but enticing. Rookie Caedan Wallace was a right tackle at Penn State. Calvin Anderson missed significant time to illness over the last year-plus and isn’t exactly a sure-fire option. Mike Onwenu is seen by most as a stretch athletically at right tackle, never mind the left side. Tyrone Wheatley Jr.? Vederian Lowe? A late veteran addition from outside the organization? The left tackle spot is the biggest question and hole to fill on the New England roster. And if the level of play there is not good enough it could derail everything first-year coordinator Alex Van Pelt wants to do offensively as well as the potential development of No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye. That’s a lot of pressure on Okorafor, a guy who lost his right tackle job in Pittsburgh a year ago.

2 – Quarterback: Sure the Patriots want to win games and be a competitive team week in and week out. But there is a school of thought that 2024 is simply all about how and how quickly Maye is able to take over the starting quarterback job in New England. Jacoby Brissett will be penciled in as the starter until Maye claws the job away. Maye had an up-and-down but overall productive spring. He made obvious strides but certainly not enough to obviously take over the starting job by opening day. But there is a lot of practice and preseason action to unfold between now and then. All eyes on the practice field and preseason turf this summer will be focused on literally every step Maye takes and everything throw he makes. We know he’s the future of the quarterback position and franchise as a whole. What we don’t yet know is if or when exactly he’ll be the present.

3 – Defensive back depth: Even with second-year cornerback Christian Gonzalez left with plenty to prove after missing all but four games of his rookie season, the top end of the depth chart in the secondary is pretty set. The former No. 1 pick is the No. 1 corner. Newly-rich Kyle Dugger and bad-ass veteran Jabrill Peppers are the formidable foundation at safety. And Jonathan Jones will be in the mix among the top four defensive backs as long as he’s healthy. But from there, things get questionable. New England doesn’t have a true and obvious free safety type, something that’s been lacking since Devin McCourty took his talents to TV. Finding a versatile option for that role as well as nailing down cornerback depth roles after the top two options will be an ongoing competition throughout the summer among names that aren’t necessarily familiar to casual fans. Marcus Jones, Shaun Wade, Alex Austin, Isaiah Bolden, Marcel Dial, Azizi Hearn and others could all be in the mix depending on what they do this summer.

4 – Wide receiver: No matter how well the competition and action goes at the receiver position this summer, the Patriots will not enter the season with a proven, elite No. 1 option at receiver. And with respect to veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster the position is nowhere near “stacked.” But, there are a lot of guys with some upside battling for jobs, roles and reps. DeMario Douglas looks poised to build on an impressively solid rookie season, his biggest key remaining healthy when he starts taking hits. Tyquan Thornton is probably at the make-or-break point in his New England tenure. Smith-Schuster declared himself 100-percent healthy this spring, something he says he was never close to last fall. He could end up as anything from a top option to a big-name cut. Rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker have obvious potential and upside, but that doesn’t always lead to playing time and production right away. Veteran K.J. Osborn needs to prove himself in a new spot where he won’t share the field with an elite talent like Justin Jefferson. Kendrick Bourne needs to prove himself healthy coming back from major injury. Are there any All-Pros in this competition? Probably not. But there are plenty of guys with some intriguing ability vying for wide open roles worth keeping an eye on.

5 – Kicker: In some ways, second-year former fourth-round pick Chad Ryland is competing with himself to save his career in New England after a pretty poor rookie season. The team brought in veteran Joey Slye as a fallback second option at the spot. Given the investment in terms of draft pick, obviously the desire is for Ryland to level out and take hold of the job.
Unlike the other competitions on this list where there are gray areas and some subjectivity, this is more cut-and-dry. Either Ryland makes his kicks in practice and preseason action or he doesn’t. Either he’ll be good enough to retain the job or he won’t be. Being a kicker in the NFL is similar to the way some describe NBA basketball, it’s a make or miss league. Ryland missed too many last year and needs to make more this time around if he plans to stick around.