Patriots rookie minicamp notebook: First look at the Class of 2025

New England Patriots rookie minicamp kicked off on Friday. It's the first of two rookie minicamp practices the team will have over the course of the next three days, and the only one that was open to the media.

With the main purpose of getting the rookies caught up, it was a lighter intensity practice. Players were in shorts and shells for the 90-minute session which consisted of three main periods. It began with positional drills, followed by one agility drills with both the offense and defense on the field, and finally a walkthrough period.

Along with the practice, head coach Mike Vrabel spoke to reporters before the team got on the field. A few players spoke after practice as well.

Between all of that, here's what stood out at Gillette Stadium on Friday...

Pen to paper

Before the practice even began the Patriots announced that eight of their 11 draft picks had officially signed their rookie contracts. The team also officially signed the previously-reported undrafted free agents.

"Very exciting, putting the pen to the paper," third-round pick center Jared Wilson said after practice when asked about signing his first NFL contract. "But still got to go out here, you've got to learn the playbook. Putting pen to paper don't mean nothing. It doesn't make you a better football player. So still got come here with the same attitude every day and learn and go to work."

The three players who didn't sign their rookie deals were first-round pick Will Campbell, second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson, and fourth-round pick Craig Woodson. In past years, the Patriots haven't finished signing their full rookie class until well into the summer, with the final signing at times coming in the week or two leading into training camp.

Attendance

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Despite not having officially signed their contracts, Campbell and Woodson both took part in Friday's practice along with the rest of the rookie class. The only player not present was Henderson, with no reason given for his absense. Asked prior to practice about expected attendance, Vrabel told reporters "you guys have that roster, and you guys will go and look and check it off. I don't want to do your job for you. I want to allow you to have some interesting things when we stretch and go through all that."

In addition to the rookie class a few second-year players who were on the Patriots' practice squad last season took part in Friday's practice as well. Wide receiver John Jiles, linebacker Truman Jones, and defensive back Miles Battle were all on the field.

OL alignment

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At the end of practice the Patriots did do a walkthrough with all 11 players in the formation on offense. That's the most we got to see from the offensive linemen, with them spending the rest of the day in individual drills.

Campbell spent the full day at left tackle. That's in line with what Vrabel said after his selection, despite some pre-draft talk that he could move inside to guard.

During individual drills, Campbell's power really stood out. The sound of him hitting the blocking pad echoed through the fieldhouse, and he finished his reps up to the whistle.

The rookie offensive lineman most likely to move is actually Wilson, with Eliot Wolf noting on draft night that the team believes he could play some guard after starting at center for Georgia last year. Wilson spent his time on Friday at center, although prior to practice Vrabel left the door open to him potentially getting some work at guard down the road.

"I would say that any of those interior three positions [left guard, center, right guard], probably should know all those," Vrabel explained. "He'll be working at center this week, and from what I've seen in just a short amount of time, I'm looking forward to seeing that this weekend. Once we get in here with the rest of the guys and we start to get to OTAs, his ability to play guard, we'll be able to evaluate. But we don't want to overload him, but obviously excited about seeing him operate at center and communicate, make the calls, quarterback-center exchange, all those things that are critical, especially in a rookie minicamp."

First impressions

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Externally, this was the first time seeing a lot of these players in person. While it's possible to get a good idea of what a player can do on tape, there can be little things that don't always translate.

With this class, quite a few players look and move bigger than they actually are. Offensive tackle Marcus Bryant and tight end C.J. Dippre in particular stood out in that regard.

Dippre was used heavily as a blocking tight end at Alabama, so is more raw as a receiver. He got a few chances to run routes during the end of Friday's practice, at one point getting some direct coaching from Vrabel. Heading into the spring Dippre is viewed as one of the most likely UDFAs to earn a 53-man roster spot.

Other standouts

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Again, this was a non-padded practice with the most intense reps being a late up-tempo walkthrough. Keeping that in mind, there were a few other players that stood out based on how they went about their business during those sessions.

Third-round pick Kyle Williams made a couple of impressive catches late in practice, including one where he had to climb the ladder to catch a ball thrown high along the sideline on a comeback. On a play two reps later he got open deep, but the ball was not thrown his way.

UDFA running back Lan Larison showed good quickness in his route running. He was a constant target of both quarterbacks - UDFA Ben Wooldridge and tryout player Jake Wilcox. Fellow UDFA Efton Chism III was able to get himself open a few times.

Jiles also made the most of his opportunities, getting in this extra practice as a second-year player. He was among the most-targeted options with the highlight of his day being a high-point catch through contact, which he toe-tapped on the sideline.

Given the setting of this practice and lack of contact it was tougher for defensive players to stand out. That being said, DDFA defensive back Brandon Crossley showed good instincts breaking on throws and was regularly around the football.

Vrabel's involvement

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Throughout the spring veteran players have talked about Vrabel being a hands-on player in practices. We got our first look at that on Friday.

While Vrabel didn't have the blocking pad on for this one (vice president of football operations and strategy John "Stretch" Streicher did though), he was on the line of scrimmage during an early special teams period helping players line up their drops. During the middle portion of practice Vrabel would pull players from different positions aside and coach them up.

Towards the end of practice Vrabel put on a pinnie and played middle linebacker as the offense went through it's walkthrough. The former NFL linebacker looked right at home, even helping others on the defense line up and adjust before the snap.

Vrabel wasn't the only coaching mixing it up at practice. That walkthrough defense saw a few other coaches in the formation along with the remainig offensive players.

On the other side of the ball, coaches filled in at running back in 11-man formations with Larison the only running back with the team on the field. That included running backs coach Tony Dews taking some handoffs. We'll see what it looks like once the full roster is on the field, but Vrabel doesn't seem to be the only coach taking a hands-on approach.

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One coach wasn't on the field with the team on Friday, in defensive coordinator Terrell Williams. Vrabel shared before practice that Williams had a medical issue in the spring, and has been working with the team over Zoom since. Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr has been handling the hands-on defensive cooridnator responsibilities since.

Williams spoke to reporters via Zoom after practice. While he declined to discuss the details of his medical issue, he said that he is home in Detroit on "doctors orders" but hopes to return to the facility soon.

"I also want to make it clear that I’m away from the building, but I’m not away from the team," Williams said, shared saying that he has been talking with Vrabel at least once a day and speaking with players regularly. "Hopefully I’ll be able to get back soon."

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