The Patriots have held two open organized team activities during their ongoing offseason program, with our latest look-in at practice coming on Wednesday.

Moving forward, the development of second-year QB Drake Maye under the guidance of head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is the team's biggest storyline. With McDaniels and Vrabel's arrival, Maye is learning a new offensive system after being in former OC Alex Van Pelt's West Coast scheme as a rookie. The learning curve has led to some ups and downs in practice, including last week's practice, where Maye threw multiple interceptions, and Wednesday's session, where the passing game was inconsistent.

From this perspective, Maye is exhibiting some expected indecisiveness in the early stages of installing a new offense. There's little doubt that the light will turn on for Maye, as it did midway through his rookie training camp last summer, and McDaniels is an excellent coordinator, which makes you feel confident that it's only a matter of time. Still, there is always an adjustment period whenever players are introduced to a new system. Hopefully, the Patriots will come out of the spring on solid footing so that we won't be discussing this in August. We should then start seeing steady improvement from the entire group, including Maye.

After taking in two OTA sessions, here are 17 thoughts on the Patriots at this juncture.

- Some context on the offense's inconsistencies that is worth pointing out is the nature of these "passing camps" during 11-on-11s. As Vrabel said before Wednesday's practice, it's essentially third-and-long for the offense on every play without the threat of the run game. Plus, vets Morgan Moses and Mike Onwenu, the projected right side of the O-Line, are easing in reps-wise while the Pats are breaking in a rookie left tackle and have a competition at left guard. They're also missing top WR Stefon Diggs (ACL recovery), so there's a lot of moving parts. It's early.

- The Patriots defensive front four of Harold Landry, Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, and Keion White has been a fixture in these practices. K'Lavon Chaisson rotates in some, while NT Khyiris Tonga will likely play a situational early-down role. But the Pats top unit has been disruptive in practice. White's fit in a more aggressive system that has him rushing from a three-point stance over the tackle is intriguing. The third-year pro looks like a natural in Vrabel's defense. I'm excited to see more.

- Along those same lines, White's had some great battles with first-round LT Will Campbell already. White's long, powerful style provides a good training ground for Campbell to get used to blocking those body types. It's been a solid back-and-forth, but the more veteran player beat Campbell's two-hand punch for a "sack" on Wednesday.

- We've seen several different players mix in at left guard: Wes Schweitzer, Cole Strange, and Tyrese Robinson. I'm assuming Layden Robinson and Sidy Sow will get reps there in front of the media eventually, and I'm not ruling out third-rounder Jared Wilson, either. It's way too early to declare any front-runners at left guard. Garrett Bradbury is repping at center, as expected.

- I'm excited about McDaniels's plan for second-round RB TreVeyon Henderson, whose explosiveness and quicks are evident. The Pats could find unique ways to get Henderson into space as a receiver and gadget player from different alignments – he's a playmaker.

- Third-round WR Kyle Williams had the play of the day in Wednesday's practice, hauling in a bomb from backup QB Josh Dobbs on a go route. Williams beat the corner clean at the line of scrimmage, stacked the defender, and made a nice adjustment to catch the ball over his shoulder. Williams is a speed receiver in non-contact practices, so we'll see what it looks like in pads, but his ability to separate on the outside has flashed.

- I'm keeping my WR Kendrick Bourne stock. His routes have been crisp and mostly in the right spots, which makes sense, seeing that he had a career year with McDaniels in 2021 (55 catches, 800 yards, five touchdowns) and is two years removed from his ACL injury.

- Undrafted rookie WR Efton Chism and RB Lan Larson look the part of McDaniels archetypes in their respective roles, slot receiver and third-down RB. Chism's quickness and feel for navigating middle-of-the-field coverage has stood out. He also has some nifty jump cuts in the open field to avoid tacklers. Those are two players to watch this summer.

- Second-year WR Javon Baker made a nice catch on an in-breaker, but this ref would've thrown a flag for offensive pass interference on his downfield catch in Wednesday's session. Former second-round WR Ja'Lynn Polk is not participating yet in full team drills after reportedly undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. Polk has been running routes vs. air during team periods with offensive assistant Riley Larkin and appears to be going full tilt.

- Given McDaniels's history with rostering fullbacks, FB Brock Lampe has a clear path to make the roster. TE Jaheim Bell made a nice catch on a low throw in Wednesday's practice, while undrafted rookie TE C.J. Dippre's physical stature catches the eye, and TE Jack Westover is getting his opportunities. It would be a surprise if the Pats don't roster a fullback along with top tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, so we'll see if there's room for a third tight end.

- Free-agent addition Robert Spillane was flying to the ball in Wednesday's session and was on the scene three times for "tackles" near the line of scrimmage. Spillane was so quick to the ball in some instances that I wondered if he was in the offense's huddle. Perhaps he's already getting a feel for the offense's base plays after seeing them in practice over the last few weeks.

- I'm not sure where he fits in this defense yet, but edge rusher Anfernee Jennings has been noticeable pushing the pocket. Jennings has typically played as a stand-up edge setter on early downs, which isn't usually a full-time role in this scheme. Still, we know he can play.

- Fourth-round S Craig Woodson is the player who has surprised me the most, in a good way. He can play centerfield, looks smooth as a robber/short zone defender, and can cover tight ends. There's a good skill set there that's worth developing as a complement to Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers. He has consistently been in the right spots and forced some errant throws in both practices.

- Fourth-round DL Joshua Farmer flashed more in the second session with a batted pass and got some push on the inside as a pass rusher. Farmer is a long-armed, stout-framed rusher.

- After we saw projected starting outside corners Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis work together in the first open OTA, Davis wasn't present in the latest session. Third-year CB Alex Austin was the next man up alongside Gonzalez and Marcus Jones. Austin got some reps in the slot, which might speak to the Pats desire to deploy a "big" slot in some defensive packages. The "big" slot defender was a role in Vrabel's defense during his time in Tennessee, covering tight ends and bigger-bodied slot receivers while being sturdy against the run.

- S Marte Mapu could play more at the second level of the defense under this coaching staff. Mapu had a nice blitz that got home in Wednesday's practice: Marte Mapu, linebacker?!

- Rookie K Andy Borregales is 7-for-8 on field goal attempts through two open practices. He has a consistent stroke that allows him to be accurate even if he doesn't hit the ball super clean. Like a golfer, you want kickers to have a consistent, repeatable swing of the leg.

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