The Patriots offense got some great work in during two days of joint practices against an Eagles defense that has been among the NFL's best over the last few seasons.
Under well-renowned defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Philadelphia's defense ranked 11th in DVOA and fifth in points allowed in 2025 (19.1 PPG). The Eagles are anchored up front by star defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis while Pro Bowl corners Quinyon Mitchell, Riq Woolen, and Cooper DeJean patrol the back end. It's a good defense, one that thoroughly dominated the Pats offense two summers ago, making the last two days a great measuring stick.
From this perspective, it was a split decision between the Patriots offense and the Eagles defense. On Wednesday, Patriots QB Drake Maye was outstanding in open-field work, hitting early-down crossing routes off play-action and vertical shots to top wide receiver A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs. Everything was working for the Pats offense on the first day of joint practices but my guess is Fangio let his players have it during post-practice meetings because the Eagles defense bounced back in Thursday's session.
Speaking to reporters after practice, Maye summarized the two days against the Eagles and highlighted needed red-zone improvements for the offense. Last season, the Patriots ranked just 17th in red-zone efficiency. They had some good moments, including Brown winning a jump ball over Mitchell and Doubs capping off practice with about a 15-yard touchdown, but it remains a work in progress in the red area.
"We had a lot of great work. That's a good football team over there and I think just not riding the roller coaster. I feel like we had some good periods where we were attacking them and we had some periods where you have to continue the competitive stamina. That's the thing about this game. You can't just be one player here, one play there. You got to string plays together. I thought we did that better [Wednesday] than we did [Thursday]," Maye said. "It's tough down there in the red zone. A lot of bodies in a small amount of space but I feel like we could have done more in the red zone and that's something for us to learn."
Although the offense wasn't as sharp in joint practice No. 2 with Philly, the arrow remains up on the Patriots newly minted wide receiver duo, A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, and the offensive line battled with the Eagles stout defensive front. Philly's defensive line made its presence felt in Thursday's session, especially Davis, who was a handful for the Pats interior O-Line on day two. But the Patriots were able to run their offense and push the ball downfield without Philly's D-Line completely taking over – a huge positive.
"Those guys up front never get the love they deserve. They really deserved it [on Wednesday] and I think there were some things [on Thursday], including myself with getting the ball out, and them kind of standing more firm up front today, that we can continue to challenge them," Maye said of his offensive line's performance. "Those guys have a tough job. It's two consecutive days in a row of getting a good front that has got some good players up there that have made a lot of plays in this league. So, they had a tough task and I think they stood up to it well."
After observing Patriots-Eagles joint practices over the last two days, here are 17 takeaways on the Patriots offense as training camp nears an end.
- QB Drake Maye was mostly sharp when you combine the two days of joint practices with Philly, especially in Wednesday's session when Maye was terrific. The Pats QB's downfield ball placement is what stood out the most, with pinpoint accuracy on a crossing route to Brown and a back-foot fadeaway staring down the barrel of a blitz where he dropped a beautiful throw in the bucket to Brown along the sideline. Maye continues to gain trust in Brown and Doubs to win contested targets, which led to several practice highlights. Due to their great front four, Philly doesn't blitz much, so the Pats blitz-beaters weren't tested as often this week. Blitz beaters and red zone efficiency are two areas we'll need to wait and see on.
- Although the pass protection was solid, the Pats run game was more of a grind vs. Philly. The Eagles ranked ninth in rush EPA allowed last season and have those two monsters in the middle of their D-Line, so it's a tough front to run against. Still, RBs Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson were mostly left grinding out dirty yards. They did pop a few runs off the left side and RB Hasaan Haskins pushed the pile with the second unit for a nice red-zone TD.
- From this perspective, RB Rhamondre Stevenson is trending toward being the lead back to start the season. Stevenson has more consistently found holes between the tackles and is getting the bulk of the reps with Maye. RB TreVeyon Henderson will still have a major role as a change-of-pace back and ideally in the passing game if Henderson can improve in blitz pickup.
- WR Romeo Doubs's comfort level in the offense seems to improve with each practice. The free-agent addition capped off Thursday's session by separating on a post route for a 15-yard TD in the situational period and high-pointed a deep ball from Maye over Woolen for a big play in Wednesday's session. From this perspective, Doubs's ascension has as much to do with Maye and OC Josh McDaniels figuring out Doubs as it does with him figuring out the offense. Doubs is being featured more on verticals, deep outs, digs, and slants while Maye is trusting his receiver to win the ball at the catch point. In other words, it's less of the quick-hitters from the slot and more down the field work for Doubs, who has improved rapidly.
- WR A.J. Brown showed out in front of his former team, which isn't surprising. Brown's highlight on day two was climbing the ladder in the back left corner of the end zone to win a jump ball over Mitchell. On Wednesday, he was even better, hitting on three explosive plays. The lone blemish was Woolen ripping a throw out of Brown's hands, which led to a diving interception by Eagles EDGE Jalyx Hunt on a circus-type play. Otherwise, it was a great two days for Brown and Maye against the Eagles.
- WR DeMario Douglas continues to feast on crossing routes at all three levels. He gave Eagles NCB Cooper DeJean problems taking off across the formation and Maye hitting Pop over the ball was the drive-starter for the Pats successful TD drive to end Thursday's session. Douglas is primed to have a huge role in this offense as the primary slot receiver.
- WR Kayshon Boutte was inconsistent on his deep targets, including a deep post from Maye where Boutte couldn't run underneath it. However, the Pats wideout boxed out a defender on a back-shoulder fade to end his practice with a touchdown from backup QB Tommy DeVito. You're used to seeing Boutte catch those deep-ball targets but he was a little more inconsistent in that area over the last two days.
- WR Kyle Williams had a quiet first day of joint practices but showed up in the second session by catching a roughly 40-yard touchdown from DeVito where he burned old friend Shaun Wade on a go route. Williams's vertical speed has flashed in two-out-of-three joint practices and the preseason opener. I'm sure he'll get some run in Saturday's preseason game vs. the Eagles.
- The Patriots tight ends were mostly quiet over the two practices in the passing game. Besides catching a quick out to set up a field goal in the 2-min drill on Wednesday, TE Hunter Henry didn't record a catch in 11-on-11s. Rookie TE Eli Raridon also didn't flash much in the passing game. Maybe something the Eagles were doing to take away the middle of the field? Maye certainly found ways to complete passes to his wide receivers, so who knows.
- LT Will Campbell had some good battles with Eagles EDGE Jalyx Hunt. Campbell and Hunt split their 1-on-1 reps 2-2, with Hunt having a clean win over Campbell on day one. Handling stunts remains a work in progress for Campbell and LG Alijah Vera-Tucker, who is still getting his feet wet in a new offense after missing the 2025 season. There will be reports that Campbell struggled but he held up just fine in team periods. Hunt is underrated and has the advantage of rushing next to Carter and Davis.
- OT Caleb Lomu took reps at both tackle spots, including some right tackle work with the top offense on Thursday while starter Morgan Moses was load managing. I had Lomu 2-2 in his 1-on-1 reps against A.J. Epenesa. Lomu spoke after practice about keeping his base, which seemed to be a problem at times, as he fell off blocks due to overextension. On a positive note, he had a great zone-reach block on day one to create a cutback lane for RB Jam Miller. Overall, Lomu continued a typical rookie summer (up and down).
- LG Alijah Vera-Tucker had some struggles with DT Jordan Davis in Thursday's session, and as mentioned, passing off line stunts with Campbell has been a bit shaky. The Pats had some decent runs between Campbell and Vera-Tucker through the left side but he got bull-rushed by DTs Moro Ojomo and Davis in team while splitting his 1-on-1 reps against DT Ty Robinson. Ideally, you'd like to see a little more from AVT.
- C Jared Wilson deserves a ton of credit for battling inside with Davis and company. Wilson was 3-1 in 1-on-1 reps against Davis in the two sessions, including stonewalling Davis on one rep with a quick set/punch on Wednesday. Impressive stuff against a powerful dude in Davis.
- RG Mike Onwenu is rounding into regular-season form with a 3-0 record in 1-on-1s against Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo (I missed one of his reps). There was one pressure through the right side that led to a batted pass at the line but Onwenu held his own against a good front.
- RT Morgan Moses only did one 1-on-1 rep over the two days, with his reps mostly going to Marcus Bryant and Lomu in those periods. Moses lost his lone rep to an outside speed rush from EDGE Nolan Smith. It seems fair to say the 35-year-old is pacing himself in these practices.
- Lomu and OT Marcus Bryant both got beat on one rep for a "sack" in team on Thursday. Bryant was shaky in these sessions as he continues to bounce around to both tackle spots. Rookie OT Dametrius Crownover went 3-0 in 1-on-1s on Thursday, which was good.
- We didn't get to see new G/C Greg Van Roten much in team drills yet but he warmed up at left guard on day one and center on day two. I'm interested to see if Van Roten plays center once he starts practicing, since backup center Ben Brown is on the mend.
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