10 Things the Patriots First Preseason Game Told Us

The New England Patriots opened up their 2022 season with a home 23–21 loss to the New York Giants. Not many starters played for the Pats, but here are my takeaways from the Patriots first dive into the 2022 season.

1. Brian Hoyer Still Has It

Coming into the season many reporters speculated that Brian Hoyer was kept around as more of a player coach than an actual quarterback. Thursday, Brian Hoyer dismissed those rumors. Hoyer only played the first quarter and still managed to go 5/8 for 59 yards and a touchdown. This all while the Patriots trotted out their second string offense to face the Giants first strings. Hoyer had a beautiful ball to Kristian Wilkerson down the sideline and also finished off his best drive with a 7 yard touchdown pass to 2nd round pick Tyquan Thornton. Hoyer can still be a backup in today’s NFL and could even manage the Patriots for a few games if Mac Jones were to go down.

2. Tyquan Thornton’s Route Running Has Translated

Tyquan Thornton has been known as a great route runner to couple with his speed, but Thursday’s game showed off just how effective Thornton can be against NFL corners. Despite having 2 receptions for 9 yards, Thornton showed off his ability to create separation down the sideline as well as break free going horizontally down the field. Thornton’s production suffered due to Bailey Zappe’s frequent misses of Thornton. Thornton looks like he has translated well to the NFL game and it’s good to see he is working well in the middle of the field as well as deep.

3. Mack Wilson Has a Great Chance To Start

Mack Wilson was acquired by the Patriots this offseason to add more speed to the Patriots linebacking core. It seems that Wilson will be able to do that. Wilson played the first half of the game and recorded 4 tackles over that span. Wilson looked aggressive and flew around the field when he was on. With only Raekwon McMillan and Cam McGrone in front of Wilson on the depth chart, Wilson’s tenacity and strength he showed on Thursday, could propel him into the starting role week one.

4. Cam McGrone Has a Great Motor

Former Michigan Linebacker Cam McGrone missed all of his rookie year recovering from a torn ACL. Despite that, McGrone looked feisty and fast on Thursday night. McGrone came in during the second half for his NFL debut and didn’t disappoint. McGrone recorded 5 tackles on the night and was seemingly involved in every play he was on the field for. McGrone nearly had 2 interceptions, coming within inches of each. The second interception opportunity, McGrone lunged himself towards the ball with incredible determination, nearly coming up with it. McGrone displayed the speed and desire needed by todays NFL Linebackers. He should have a spot on the 53 man roster and looks to be a plug and play Linebacker for when the team needs a lot of energy.

5. Tre Nixon is Excellent in Contested Areas

Tre Nixon had a horrible first half for the Patriots. Nixon failed to haul in a pass during the first half and dropped a wide open check down pass during that time. Nixon was looking like he wasn’t ready for the NFL, then a different Tre Nixon emerged in the second half. Nixon hauled in 4 receptions for 81 yards, including 2 beautiful back shoulder catches in extremely tight coverage. For a player with a 6–2 180 pound frame, you would expect Nixon to only be good in space, but he finds a way to be very effective when contested. Nixon and Kristian Wilkerson both had good nights and both will be rostered on an NFL team as they fight for the final receiver spot in New England.

6. Myles Bryant Can Return Kicks

Myles Bryant was a key player in the Patriots secondary last year, but with the addition of 4 new corners through free agency and the draft, his job is becoming less and less secure. The departure of Gunner Olszewski to Pittsburgh has given Bryant a new opportunity to make the Patriots roster. Bryant proved that he could fill Olszewski’s role as a punt returner last night, with 30 yard and 16 yard returns. Bryant looked shifty and elusive, showing off vision usually only running backs posses. Bryant looks like a tough runner that could hopefully match what Olszewski did for the special teams unit the past few years. Bryant looks pretty good for a guy that has never returned a NFL kick. It’s only up from here and it could save his roster spot.

7. Bailey Zappe Isn’t Ready to be an NFL Backup

Bailey Zappe tossed a record breaking 62 TDs in his senior year at Western Kentucky but the NFL is a different animal. Zappe came into the game Thursday, towards the end of the first quarter. Zappe struggled the entire first half, going only 3/9 in that span. Zappe continuously over threw and under threw his receivers, making receivers like Tyquan Thornton waste a solid quarter of football. Zappe came out of halftime looking a little more comfortable. Zappe finished the game 19/32 with 205 yards, 1TD, and an interception. That interception being an errant throw that looked like he just threw it up in the air off the snap. Zappe’s good throws to Tre Nixon and Lil’Jordan Humphrey also came with some red flags. On almost all of Zappe’s deep throws, the QB under threw his receivers and made them go get the ball. Zappe’s only touchdown to Lil’Jordan Humphrey, had the receiver backpedaling and reaching forward to grab the ball in the front of the end zone. Zappe’s inconsistent throws and lack of arm strength are not good signs for the Patriots and both recommend that Zappe will need at least a year of development to become a safe backup for Mac Jones.

8. Jack Jones Has Real Ball Hawk Potential

The second half of the game inserted rookie corner Jack Jones into the Patriots secondary, and he looked good. The 4th round pick out of Arizona St proved aggressive and competitive in coverage and nearly came up with numerous interceptions. On consecutive plays Jones was in the right place at the right time, but couldn’t quite come up with the ball. Jones was jumping routes at the right time and looks like he might have the same traits former Patriot ball hawk JC Jackson possessed. Jones consistently averaged over 3 interceptions a season in college, so hopefully these skills will continue to translate after Thursday’s performance.

9. Jalen Elliott Could Make the Team

Safety Jalen Elliott was a recent signing to the Patriots roster, only joining the team on August 2nd, but he made a huge impact in the Patriots first game. Elliott flew around the field for all 4 quarters and ended up leading the team in tackles with 5. Elliott is coming into his 2nd season in the NFL, his first being with the Detroit Lions last year. Elliott looked physical in his hits and really laid down the stick on most ball carriers. Elliott looked like a natural in the Patriots system and was the one player that seemed to jump off the screen the most. Elliott’s coverage skills could present problems, but the hard hitting traits he possesses are what the Patriots like to have in their safetys (Check out Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Jabrill Peppers, etc.). Elliott can also provide work in all special teams units which could give Bill Belichick something tough to think about on cut down day. It’s going to be an uphill battle for Elliott who is trying to make a roster heavy with safetys, but the talent is there.

10. The WR Group is Too Deep

The Patriots are currently holding 10 wide receivers on their roster, not including special teams legend Matthew Slater. This presents a challenging situation where the Patriots will most likely need to cut down to 6 receivers by the end of the preseason. Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, Devante Parker, and Tyquan Thornton are all pretty much guaranteed roster spots so that leaves 6 receivers to fight over the final 2 roster spots. The receivers vying for those spots will be Nelson Agholor (Will only lose spot if traded), Ty Montgomery, Tre Nixon, Kristian Wilkerson, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and Josh Hammond. These spots go down to one if Nelson Agholor isn’t traded and Ty Montgomery has looked well enough in camp that the Patriots didn’t even bother to play him on Thursday. During the game Kristian Wilkerson went for 8 receptions and 99 yards, looking like a seasoned vet, while Tre Nixon went for 4 receptions and 81 yards. The Patriots would most likely love to keep both, but the depth of the receiver group is going to force the Pats to lose at least one of the two main contenders (Nixon and Wilkerson) for the 6th receiver spot. Lil’Jordan Humphrey also looked great last night, recording 6 receptions for 62 yards, and a TD. This complicates the process even more as Humphrey is starting to look like a possible roster contender rather than another camp body. Nixon, Wilkerson, and Humphrey will be on NFL 53 man rosters this year, it’s just a matter of if any of them will be able to crack the Patriots roster.