Your Patriots through the first eleven days in Pads

Patriots Draft Pick Jared Wison looks to be a starter this season for the Patriots.

Players who are rising on the Patriots roster are rookie offensive lineman Jared Wilson, cornerback D.J. James and undrafted wide receiver Efton Chism III as well as wide receiver Javon Baker who is starting to put together a string of good practices. Now players whose stock are falling consist offensive lineman Cole Strange, wide receiver's Ja'Lynn Polk, and Kendrick Bourne. Another factor hurting the Patriots is that Injuries are starting to become a major factor on this team as starting cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and newly signed cornerback Carlton Davis III are missing time with injuries. You can also add Kendrick Bourne to the list of injured players as he was rolled up on in the inter-squad scrimmage on Friday night at Gillette Stadium and yesterday, Marcellas Dial Jr. l went down with what appears to be a significant injury. Stay tuned for more information on the injured players as they continue to heal or be put on the injured reserve list.

A deeper dive into why these players are rising or falling at Patriots Camp this year are as follows. Now I'm going to start with the offensive center/guard newly drafted Jared Wilson. He has shown explosiveness off the ball with great blocking skills. He is actually getting first team reps ahead of other veterans on this team like Cole Strange, and Layden Robinson. Wilson is quickly becoming a favorite to be a starter week one against the Raiders. My next player whose stock is rising is undrafted wide receiver, Efton Chism III as he is an explosive wide receiver of the snap. Efton is showing his ability and agility in the slot position and seems to catch every ball thrown to him. Chism can also return kicks and punts, adding value to the team. Having said this about Efton giving his skills he should make this team as a special teamer and then be sprinkled in on the offense in the slot position. Also adding to the wide receiver position, newly drafted Kyle Williams, who is showing explosiveness in the wide receiver room with his ability to get open deep, and even last year’s fourth round draft pick Javon Baker who is starting to show signs that he may just indeed belong in the NFL as he’s stringing together a couple great practices. Baker needs a great game on Friday against the Commanders as he will need big game to start solidifying a roster spot on the Patriots roster this year. I finalize the rising players with D.J. James cornerback this kid is very explosive in the secondary, making plays all over the field and if he continues to have a great preseason starting with the Commanders game Friday, you could actually see this kid make the teams fifty-three-man roster. Moving onto the players on the downside Cole Strange who has seemingly slipped on the depth chart as well as other offensive linemen with the emergence of Jared Wilson such as Garrett Bradberry returning to the field from his minor injury and offensive linemen Layden Robinson who also has slipped on the depth chart. Another player that depth may be in question is defensive back safety, Kyle Dugger who is not taking second string reps. Add wide receiver, Ja'Lynn Polk, who struggled to get on the field early in training camp nursing sore muscle tissue and it seems like Polk is still battling an uphill battle to make this team, especially if other wide receivers start to step up and solidify spots on the fifty-three-man roster.

Now let’s preview Friday’s game against the Washington Commanders. The Patriots host Washington on Friday August 8th in Foxboro for their first preseason game. There’s going to be a lot of electricity before the game as Tom Brady’s statue will be unveiled. In this game, we will have a great chance to look at the wide receivers and tight end position with players such as Jalen Polk, Javon Baker, Efton Chism and tight ends Jaheim Bell, Gee Scott, and C.J Dippre. The skilled pass catchers will get a chance to show what they can do in the passing game. Offensive Line is another critical position to look at as offensive line players like Caedan Wallace, Layden Robinson, Cole Strange, and newly drafted Jared Wilson will show who will add depth through the team on the offensive line. Add to that another interesting battle will be the kickers and which kicker will stick on the fifty-three-man roster. Finally, the backup cornerbacks with all the injuries on the team, at that position is going to be vital to the team and which one of these young players step up.

I will close this article with this, the thought in mind with all the injuries that have crept up on the Patriots veterans and rookies in Camp this year. Which veteran or young player will shine Friday night and have a solid chance to show that they belong playing in the NFL on the Patriots this season. Who will step up. Stay tuned for Friday night game

and let’s see who shines.