Hunter Henry and Demario “Pop” Douglas praise Jacoby Brissett for his leadership and willingness to help the receiver group learn Alex Van Pelt’s offense
FOXBORO -- The Patriots went at it in the heat and full pads for the second consecutive day Saturday.
Our Day 9 edition of Stock Watch has the details on which players thrived (and which didn't) in their latest on-the-field workout.
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Hunter Henry, tight end
One of the most impressive completions of this training camp came early Saturday. Jacoby Brissett dropped back and found Hunter Henry for a twisting, one-handed grab along the sideline over 20 yards away in an 11-on-11 period.
Unfortunately for the offense, the play was brought back due to a "sack." But that particular connection was on display throughout the practice.
One play before Henry's highlight-reel-quality snag, Brissett hit him with an on-time and accurate over route for chunk gain. Brissett also threw to Henry twice with the clock ticking down on them in a two-minute drill. The second went for a last-second touchdown. With no timeouts and time running, Brissett snapped the football just before the clock hit zeros and floated one to a diving Henry for a score.
He's clearly one of Brissett's most trusted options.
K.J. Osborn, wide receiver
Osborn wasn't far behind Henry in terms of trusted options for Brissett on Day 9.
In 7-on-7 work, Brissett threw to him twice in the span of five throws, the second coming before Osborn was out of his break in the front right corner of the end zone. The pass was a touch behind Osborn, but he reached back and secured it as he fell out of bounds for a completion.
Brissett also hit Osborn for an explosive gain deep down the field with Alex Austin in tight coverage to kick-start their successful two-minute period at the end of practice.
Dell Pettus, safety
Every so often in our Stock Watch column, we get an opportunity to laud an unheralded player trying to work his way up the roster. Showing up in a positive manner in that regard on Saturday? Pettus, who arrived to the Patriots as an undrafted rookie safety out of Troy back in the spring.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder showed up in the practice flashing good instincts to cut off ball-carriers JaMycal Hasty (twice) and Kevin Harris. He finished all three snaps with physical "thuds," taking advantage of the more physical nature of fully-padded practices. He also recorded a pass breakup on a Brissett attempt for Henry, getting some reps as the top defense tried to slow down the top offense.
Will Pettus continue to get some run early in "ones" versus "ones" periods? Worth tracking his participation as the team gears up for its first preseason game next week.
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Caedan Wallace, offensive tackle
The reason the Brissett-to-Henry play wasn't counted was due to a sack from Trysten Hill that came off of Wallace's edge at right tackle. Wallace also appeared to lose a rep to Keion White that led to a pressure and a throwaway in an 11-on-11 period late in the practice.
With Chukwuma Okorafor out, it was Wallace who bumped back up to the first offensive grouping at right tackle. He played opposite Vederian Lowe, working with starters for the third straight day, at left tackle.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, wide receiver
Tough day for the veteran wideout, who has had a tough camp.
When the offense was split into two groups early in practice -- half going with Brissett and Drake Maye, half going with Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton -- Smith-Schuster went with the players who would be considered reserves.
He later dropped a skinny post for a touchdown off the right arm of Milton. Soon after that, playing with Maye during a two-minute drill, he fell down getting out of his break, leading to an incompletion in a third-and-10 situation.
Joe Milton, quarterback
The big-armed passer from Tennessee has had a couple of highlights in camp -- and he wasn't always helped by those around him (see above) -- but Saturday was a bumpy day for the rookie.
He hit Kayshon Boutte for a touchdown with a decisive strike in 7-on-7s to start his competitive work, capping the play with a celebratory backflip. But he missed Mitchell Wilcox with a late throw that was broken up by Jaylinn Hawkins, and two plays later Marcellas Dial broke up a late-in-the-down attempt to Boutte. Milton later missed throws to Kawaan Baker and JaQuae Jackson twice, the second being broken up by Azizi Hearn.
It wasn't a perfect day for Brissett or Maye, either -- and we'll have more details on their performances in The Drake Maye Report -- but Milton's accuracy seemed a little scattershot Saturday.
