New England Patriots
Efton Chism shined, A.J. Brown played through some pain, and an undrafted cornerback made an impression.
Channing Canada and Lan Larrison Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
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FOXBOROUGH — Soggy weather conditions shifted practice inside and forced Monday’s session to be closed to the public, but there was still plenty of action.
It was a red-zone-heavy session with plenty of scrimmaging and a sprinkle of special teams work.
There were several developments with the receivers and cornerbacks to keep an eye on, as well as a note on Will Campbell’s progress and initial first impressions of rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas.
Here are five takeaways from the action.
A.J. Brown dislocated his finger
Brown continued his hot streak on Monday despite suffering a hand injury in practice. He dislocated his thumb, but was able to finish the practice after being taped up.
During red zone 7-on-7 drills, Brown hauled in a touchdown catch from Drake Maye on a competitive rep involving Christian Gonzalez. Brown got the best of the star cornerback on that play and there was a little barking back and forth between the two afterwards.
Brown began the 11-on-11 period by catching a quick slant from Maye. Maye targeted Brown on another throw near the front of the end zone, but it fell incomplete with rookie Karon Prunty nearby. Brown later caught another touchdown on a slant.
There were some hiccups. Maye had a couple of short throws to brown get broken up, and there was a strange play towards the end of practice where an off-balance Maye chucked the ball towards Brown as soon as he touched it. Brown wasn’t able to reach it.
But, overall, Brown was able to play through the injury.
A little bit of a receiver shakeup, and a big day for Efton Chism
The Patriots had a bit of a shake-up with the receiver spots. Mack Hollins and Kayshon Boutte spent an extended amount of time with the second team.
Hollins played the highest percentage of snaps out of any Patriots receiver last season, and Boutte had been New England’s most productive receiver over the first few days of camp.
The top receiver grouping during both 7-on-7s and the beginning of 11 on 11s was Brown, DeMario Douglas, and Romeo Doubs. Hunter Henry remained the top tight-end, with rookie Eli Raridon continuing to get looks as the second tight-end.
Kyle Williams was a limited participant and was not available for the team scrimmages.
Efton Chism was all over the field on Monday, hauling in several touchdowns from DeVito during the scrimmages.
Channing Canada gets in the mix
The Patriots signed cornerback Channing Canada as an undrafted free agent out of TCU in May, and he stood out on Monday for a couple of reasons.
First off, with Carlton Davis out for the third straight practice cornerback depth has been something to keep an eye on. Canada made plays when he was on there. He had a pair of pass breakups and he nearly had an interception at the end of practice that was dropped.
He also was the only defensive player in the mix with the returners as the Patriots worked on kickoffs. Chism, Canada, Lan Larrison, and Kobe Prentice were among those returning kicks on Monday.
Terrell Jennings, who had spent some time on the 53-man roster last season as a reserve running back/kick returner returned to practice. He had begun camp on the non football injury list.
Strong start for Will Campbell
Second-year left tackle Will Campbell won both of his 1-on-1 matchups, which included a rep with newcomer Dre-Mont Jones.
It’s still early in training camp, the Patriots have only had a few padded practices, but so far there hasn’t been too much cause for concern at the left tackle spot.
Campbell appears healthy, and he has fared well so far.
Jacas is soaking it in
Rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas’s eagerness was captured by several cameras when he bowled over outside linebackers coach Mike Smith during a rep where Smith was holding a blocking pad.
He has also been eager to learn in the classroom, defensive lineman Milton Williams said.
“Whatever his situation was, he’s happy to be out there,” Williams said. “He’s happy to be competing. He’s a sponge right now. I told him to be a sponge and learn as much as he can because we’re going to need you this year.
“I think he’s going to be ready for that challenge. He’s got to go through his own process as a young player to get better each and every time we go out.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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