3 Patriots Who Are Already Blowing Us Away at Training Camp
By Tyler Maher
It’s been less than a week since the Patriots opened training camp, but we already like what we’ve seen from several players. While it’s still far too early to draw any conclusions from these early impressions, we can’t help but get excited when it’s our first taste of football in months.
Sometimes, a strong start is a sign of things to come. We certainly hope that’s the case with a few players who have impressed us early on, letting us dream that big things might be in store this year.
With that in mind, here are three Patriots players who are making a killer first impression at training camp.
3 Patriots Training Camp Standouts
1. Hunter Henry
This is Hunter Henry’s third season in New England and eighth overall, so we have a pretty good sense of what kind of player he is at this point. At his best, he’s a touchdown machine and a great end-zone threat for quarterbacks thanks to his 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame.
We saw that during Henry’s rookie season with the Chargers in 2016, when eight of his 36 catches went for touchdowns. We also caught a glimpse of it firsthand during his first Patriots season in 2021, when he hauled in a career-high 9 TDs and was Mac Jones’ go-to red-zone target.
Henry slipped last year with only 2 touchdowns, a career-low for him. The chemistry that he and Jones displayed during Jones’ rookie season was nowhere to be found.
Thankfully, it appears to be back.
Another red-zone TD for Hunter Henry.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 1, 2023
A little bit of theme through 6 Patriots training camp practices; he’s been a go-to guy in money situations for QB Mac Jones.
Jones has been looking for (and finding) Henry when the offense gets down in the red zone. During Tuesday’s practice, they connected for another touchdown and appear to be back on the same page.
This is a great sign for Henry, who’s in the final year of his three-year, $37.5 million deal. He seems motivated to prove that last year was a fluke and that he’s still one of the league’s better tight ends as he approaches his thirties.
This is also great news for New England, as the team’s offense tends to operate at its best when a big-bodied tight end is doing touchdown dances (see Gronkowski, Rob).