FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The primary storyline in New England Patriots' training camp is naturally with quarterbacks Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo in the wake of Brady's four-game suspension handed down by the NFL. Brady continues to take all the first-team reps, followed by Garoppolo.
But for all the focus on the quarterbacks, let's not forget the cornerbacks either.
That was my biggest takeaway from Friday's practice, the second of camp, which gave us a clearer picture of where things stand at the position in transition. The cornerbacks, led by Malcolm Butler delivering one of the plays of the day by leaping up to swat away a would-be touchdown catch, competed well on a day that I thought the defense made more plays overall.
Butler and third-year man Logan Ryan worked quite a bit together, and when the coaches called for a fifth defensive back in nickel, free-agent signee Robert McClain (Falcons) came onto the field. McClain, who earlier in the day was lauded by Bill Belichick for his work ethic and smarts, was one of the players drawing a large media crowd after practice.
Photo: CB Robert McClain, who worked in the slot in practice, draws a crowd. pic.twitter.com/xgoHjSYSBe
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) July 31, 2015"He’s a great kid to have around -- really alert, bright, good learner, good teammate," Belichick said of McClain, the UConn alum who enters his fifth NFL season. "I just think he fits in well with this team. I’m glad we have him."
In addition to McClain, Butler and Ryan, I saw free-agent signee Tarell Brown (49ers/Raiders) moving well as he blanketed/plastered receiver Josh Boyce on the end line during 7-on-7 drills inside the red zone, and another free-agent signee, Bradley Fletcher (Eagles), with tight coverage on one play.
Naturally, it wasn't all perfect (seventh-round pick Darryl Roberts had some noticeable struggles) and there is a long way to go, but I came away from the practice thinking the group made an impression I wasn't necessarily expecting so early in camp. Add in some competitive coverage from safeties Tavon Wilson and Patrick Chung in tough matchups against tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Scott Chandler, and this was a good day for the secondary.
A few other observations from practice:
It looked like part of the work in the running game was done to preview what we might see over the weekend when players are in pads for the first time. That's when we'll get the best feel for the competition among pass-catching running backs James White, Travaris Cadet, Dion Lewis and Brandon Bolden. In this practice, White got a lot of reps and caught the ball well, and Cadet made a nice catch in the back left corner of the end zone (linebacker Jamie Collins leaped, but the ball sailed just over his reach and Cadet hauled it in). I also saw Tyler Gaffney bring in a low delivery, showing his pass-catching ability. That catch came in a drill where paddles were used to create disruption for quarterbacks in the passing lanes.
At one point in practice, Garoppolo broke off to the second field with tight ends Gronkowski and Chandler, among others, to focus on red-zone work. Brady had done that throughout the spring and on Thursday.
Rookie guards Tre' Jackson (right) and Shaq Mason (left) continue to receive a lot of quality reps alongside center Bryan Stork.
Converted defensive end Jake Bequette, now wearing No. 85 at tight end, made a touch catch from Brady in the back right corner of the end zone that fired up some of his teammates (notably Gronkowski). Bequette was later upset with himself after a drop in the end zone.
For the hard-core crowd, second-year linebacker James Morris was back on the field after not finishing Thursday's practice and sixth-round pick Matt Wells (linebacker) and undrafted free agent Brandon King (safety) split off with snapper Joe Cardona and punter Ryan Allen at one point to work on their rush, which reflects their status as players who fit first in the kicking game.
Players conducting interviews after practice included receiver Julian Edelman; White, linebackers Jerod Mayo, Jonathan Freeny and Dekoda Watson; defensive ends Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich; defensive tackle Sealver Siliga, McClain; kicker Stephen Gostkowski; and Chung, among others.