Patriots rookie review: Rookie class shows plenty of promise in first NFL game

A look at how the Patriots’ rookies fared in Week 1 against the Eagles.

The New England Patriots’ season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles also presented the first chance for the team’s rookie class to showcase themselves. And showcase they very much did: New England saw prominent contributions from several of its first-year players in all three phases of the game.

Let’s quickly go through all of them to find out how they performed against the Eagles. We will start with first-round draft pick Christian Gonzalez and work our way down from there.

CB Christian Gonzalez (1-17): Gonzalez was touted as a Day 1 starter coming out of Oregon and he lived up to that billing. The first-rounder was on the field for all 66 of the Patriots’ defensive snaps and played a big role in the team’s defensive success against a highly-potent Eagles offense. He finished the day with seven tackles and a sack, and broke up a pass on a 4th-and-2 late in the game. While Pro Football Focus credited him with seven receptions given up for 71 yards, his debut was overall a very promising one.

ED Keion White (2-46): Playing 23 defensive snaps on Sunday (35%) and aligning mostly on the edge, White proved himself to be a problem for one of the league’s best offensive lines. He finished the day with four quarterback pressures on 13 pass rush attempts, getting to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts against both left tackle Jordan Mailata and right tackle Lane Johnson — the latter being a first-team All-Pro last season. If he can keep up this level of play, White should be able to continue seeing regular snaps.

LB/S Marte Mapu (3-76): Playing nine snaps against the Eagles, Mapu was used as a part of the Patriots’ big nickel and three-safety looks: he aligned as a classic off-the-ball linebacker for most of his snaps, but also moved back to safety — either as a centerfielder or strong-side hole defender — on two occasions. He registered three tackles on the defensive side of the ball, and in addition played 12 special teams snaps on the kickoff and punt return units.

C Jake Andrews (4-107): Even with starter David Andrews playing all 80 offensive snaps, the Patriots’ backup center managed to see the field against the Eagles: he played two snaps on the extra point protection unit.

K Chad Ryland (4-112): New England’s rookie kicker was not asked to make any field goals, but he did kick the ball six times in total. He made both of his extra point attempts and had four kickoffs; the first three were touchbacks with the last a squib kick that was returned for 11 yards but, according to head coach Bill Belichick, not executed as planned. All in all, though, Ryland looked solid.

G Sidy Sow (4-117): Despite having spent all of training camp and preseason at right tackle, the Patriots opted to move Sow inside to the right guard position against the Eagles. It was trial by fire for the fourth-round pick against a defensive line that might just be the best in the NFL. The results reflect this: while he did not give up a sack, Sow surrendered one hit and four pressures against Mac Jones and also found himself overpowered in the running game on multiple occasions. Once Michael Onwenu is back healthy, Sow will return to the bench.

G Atonio Mafi (5-144): Starting on the opposite side of Sidy Sow, Mafi also was on the field for all 80 snaps. The results were equally uneven. The UCLA product was credited with one sack, one hit and five hurries given up and also was unable to generate a consistent push in the ground game. Like Sow, Mafi will also head back to a depth spot as soon as the regular starter — Cole Strange — is ready to return.

WR Kayshon Boutte (6-187): With DeVante Parker inactive because of a knee injury, the Patriots used Boutte as their number one perimeter receiver. As a result, the LSU product saw heavy action. Playing 55 offensive snaps — second among the team’s wide receivers behind only Kendrick Bourne — he was targeted four times, but finished without any receptions. Despite being in good position to do so twice, Boutte was unable to keep both feet in bounds on both a 3rd-and-4 in the third quarter, and a pivotal 4th-and-11 in the fourth.

P Bryce Baringer (6-192): The Patriots’ rookie punter had a solid first NFL game. Kicking the ball five times, he averaged 45.2 yards per kick with a net of 35.2. While those numbers per se do not look overly impressive, Baringer had some good situational punts and did showcase on the one occasion he was asked to punt from farther out: he uncorked a 65 yarder in the third quarter, even though a 25-yard return hurt the net gain significantly.

WR Demario Douglas (6-210): New England’s No. 4 wide receiver in terms of playing time, Douglas played 33 of 80 offensive snaps (41%) against the Eagles. As opposed to fellow sixth-round rookie Boutte, he did manage to catch the ball: Douglas finished the game with four receptions on seven targets for a combined 40 yards. Aligning primarily in the slot, he continued to show the same impressive elusiveness that was on display throughout training camp.

CB Ameer Speed (6-214): Even though he did not register any statistics in his 17 special teams snaps and did not see any defensive snaps at all, it is clear the Patriots value Speed’s contributions. After all, he was a member of both return and both coverage units and finished sixth on the team in kicking game snaps.

The Patriots’ rookie class extends beyond those 11 players, of course. Wide receiver/quarterback Malik Cunningham and wide receiver T.J. Luther, for example, are on the practice squad as the only two undrafted free agents currently with the team. Neither was not elevated for the game against Philadelphia.

In addition, the 12th and final member of New England’s draft class — cornerback Isaiah Bolden — remains on injured reserve. The seventh-round selection will miss the remainder of the year because of the concussion he suffered in preseason against Green Bay.