Patriots OTA Observations: Thoughts on Patriots WR Room

CLNS Media Sports Network

FOXBORO -- With Kendrick Bourne not on the field, Tyquan Thornton and K.J. Osborn were the Patriots’ top receivers, with DeMario Douglas in three-receiver sets. Thornton was the primary X receiver, and Osborn served as the Z/slot in base groupings. Thornton, often seen as fighting for a roster spot, showed potential if he can stay healthy and adapt to coaching. Boutte stood out with a diving catch from Maye and received praise from assistant coach Tiquan Underwood but struggled with consistency. JuJu Smith-Schuster reported being 100% after being 60% in 2023, though heavy rotation across positions suggests it’s too early to draw conclusions.  CLNS Media's Taylor Kyles and Pats Pulpit's Brian Hines report live from Gillette Stadium following Day 1 of Patriots OTAs.  Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!   Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.  Visit https://factormeals.com/PRESSPASS50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.

Transcript

00:00 What's going on everyone? Taylor Cowles here from CLNS Media alongside Brian Hines from Pat's Pulpit.

00:05 Here from the first day of Patriots OTAs. In this video we're going to be diving into the wide receivers.

00:10 Now, at the beginning of practice, Gerard Mayo noted that Kendrick Bourne, who ended last season with the torn ACL,

00:15 is not expected to be on the field for OTAs as he continues to recover.

00:19 That opened up some opportunities for other players. It looked like on the field that Tyquan Thornton was the Patriots top X receiver,

00:25 as he aligned more to the outside of the formation, with KJ Osborne, the free agent signing who recently played with the Vikings,

00:32 serving as the team's primary Z receiver. We also did see Jalen Polk mix in with the starting unit from time to time.

00:38 It was pretty interesting seeing how that rotation worked out without Kendrick Bourne.

00:41 Now, Brian, what did you think of the rotation and what did you see from these guys on the field?

00:45 It's about what I expected on day one. Again, it seemed like it was a big veteran, the veterans lead off the reps.

00:52 You saw Tyquan Thornton, you saw KJ Osborne, and then the rookies kind of mixing behind.

00:56 Talking about Tyquan, he buffed up this offseason. He wanted to add a lot of muscle.

01:01 He said he wanted to play around 190, so maybe get up to around 200 right now so he can play at 190 pounds throughout the year.

01:08 I thought he still looked a little skinny, especially in that lower half.

01:12 How is that going to translate when the contact starts?

01:15 He mentioned the injuries have come in the past when he hits the ground,

01:18 so it's still kind of a question mark how he's going to hold up, even though he did put on some weight there.

01:23 KJ Osborne was about what you expected. I think he had about one drop early in the session,

01:28 but that's here nor there on day one.

01:31 Interesting to see how this kind of continues to shake out.

01:34 Again, Gerard Mayo said reps might look different tomorrow than they look today,

01:37 so maybe that opens the door for Javon Baker. Maybe Jalen Polk gets elevated more,

01:41 but today it was the vets and it was Tyquan Thornton and KJ Osborne.

01:45 Some other guys you saw in the rotation, Jalen Rager was the top primary X receiver

01:50 when you saw Tyquan Thornton out of the lineup.

01:52 Also, Kayshaun Booty was the guy that stood out at a couple moments in the practice for both good and bad reasons.

01:57 There was a point early in practice where Booty drew some praise from assistant wide receivers coach Tyquan Underwood.

02:02 There was also a deep play where Drake May aired it out and he was able to track the ball.

02:07 May have tripped as he was trying to make the grab, but did end up coming down with it.

02:11 There were also some opportunities where in team drills it looked like there was a point where he may have gotten locked up on a rep

02:16 and another one where he slipped out of his break.

02:18 So inconsistent day, but still with someone with Kayshaun Booty's talent level,

02:22 it is nice to see that he's at least making an impact.

02:25 Although it is important to say with the Patriots passing game, it wasn't the cleanest day.

02:30 Now you don't expect that, especially for a team learning a brand new offense,

02:34 really the early days where the defense has an advantage just in terms of continuity out there.

02:39 Not a very clean day. You saw receivers slipping. There were some drop passes.

02:43 You want to see them improve for sure, but as we're going to say in a lot of these videos during the OTA sessions,

02:48 you've got to take it with a grain of salt.

02:50 It's more about improving than what they're actually able to show on the field at this point in the session.

02:55 But, Brian, anything else that you want to throw out there before we wrap up?

02:57 Patience, yes. But last thing, we talked to Juju Smith-Schuster after practice.

03:01 I mean, he's the big money contract in this room. They have 11 players in this room.

03:06 They just drafted two rookies. What's Juju's role after, obviously, a disappointing first season with the team?

03:11 He said last year he played pretty much 60% with that knee injury,

03:15 which cost him the last two, three weeks of the regular season as well.

03:18 He said he's much healthier this year. He's much closer at 100%, I believe he said, entering this OTA.

03:24 So maybe a healthier knee, a healthier offseason for Juju.

03:27 Maybe it leads to better results on the field for Smith-Schuster there.

03:30 Yeah, and we did see some flashes from Juju late last season in his game against his former team, the Steelers.

03:35 The last game that he played last season, we did see some of the things we were hoping to early on.

03:40 You saw some yards after catchability, him winning on a contested deep ball.

03:44 So we've kind of been leaving Juju Smith-Schuster out when it comes to how this receiver room is going to shake out.

03:49 But now that he's saying he isn't 100%, he's probably someone that you want to keep on your radar

03:53 just to see if that progress does continue.

03:56 Notable, though, he wasn't part of the starting lineup.

03:59 KJ Osborne, who's new to the team, again, was the team's top Z receiver,

04:03 which is where you expect to see Juju, although he did work into the rotation.

04:07 Make sure to subscribe to Patriot's Press Pass for all your Patriot's news and updates on YouTube.

04:11 And for all our written work, make sure you check out cnsmedia.com.

04:15 (upbeat music)

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