FOXBORO — Two days in, and the biggest headline out of Patriots training camp just about encapsulates the ongoing snoozefest outside Gillette Stadium.

Where’s the nose tackle?

Davon Godchaux did not participate in Thursday’s non-padded practice after joining his teammates Wednesday amid an ongoing contract dispute. Godchaux missed the first half of practice, then surfaced late without a helmet and watched team drills from the sideline. Meanwhile, four-time Pro Bowler Matthew Judon, who’s similarly upset with his contract and seeking an extension, again participated in all periods.

On offense, Drake Maye completed just one pass more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage during 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s. He went 3-of-5 with a sack in full-team periods, and hit all six passes during 7-on-7s, half of which were checkdowns. Jacoby Brissett played steady, efficient football, going 8-of-11 with three sacks behind a leaky offensive line.

Their competition remains unchanged, as Brissett continues to take all first-team reps. Not that two days in the non-padded acclimation period of training camp would ever have changed that. Or, the Patriots’ O-line being a shaky mess.

Elsewhere, a new wide receiver starred in team periods, multiple defenders tallied sacks, Maye stayed late with a fellow rookie and the coaching staff flipped reps at offensive tackle and backup quarterback.

Here are the Herald’s complete practice observations.

Attendance

Absent: N/A

Non-participant: DL Davon Godchaux, RB Antonio Gibson

Limited: WR DeMario Douglas

Non-contact jersey: N/A

PUP: WR Kendrick Bourne, LB Sione Takitaki, OL Cole Strange, C/G Jake Andrews

Non-Football Injury: Gibson

Davon Godchaux #92 and Joe Giles-Harris #44 of the New England Patriots during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Notes: Gibson took the field in uniform and engaged in initial stretching, but never wore a helmet or participated in any drills. Head coach Jerod Mayo said he expects his new running back to return “relatively soon.” Douglas sat out all 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods for yet another day for reasons unknown.

Play of the Day

Peppers’ pass breakup

This was supposed to be a 50/50 ball.

A chance for Hunter Henry to stretch his 6-foot-5 frame and extend for a big catch early in practice down the left seam. Jabrill Peppers had other ideas.

Peppers out-fought Henry at the catch point of a slow-arriving Brissett pass and smacked it out of the air with his right hand. Henry tumbled to the turf, while Peppers celebrated the defense’s only clean pass breakup of the day. Peppers 1, Offense 0.

Player of the Day

WR Tyquan Thornton

Tyquan Thornton #11 of the New England Patriots stretches during training camp on Tuesday in Foxboro, MA. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald) August 8, 2023

Five catches.

Two at the expense of Christian Gonzalez.

One great day.

If Tyquan Thornton intends to make the team, more practices like Thursday’s should seal the deal. The former second-round pick caught four balls from Brissett and another from Maye during team drills. Thornton caught these passes running four different routes, an excellent sign for him, despite an apparent miscommunication late in practice with Maye.

It’s also possible he drew a downfield flag that went uncalled, in which case Thornton was Thursday’s best offensive player by far.

QB Corner

Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods only. The stats in parentheses represent the quarterbacks’ camp-long performance.

Jacoby Brissett: 8-of-11, 3 sacks (18-of-24, INT, 3 sacks)

Drake Maye: 9-of-11, sack (15-of-21, 2 sacks)

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett throws during practice at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Notes: Brissett spread the ball out over an opening 11-on-11 period, targeting Hunter Henry, JuJu-Smith Schuster and Ja’Lynn Polk. Then, he zeroed in on Tyquan Thornton in 7-on-7s, when he found the speedster three times.

Moments later, Maye shook off a slow start featuring one sack and a to complete all six passes on a variety of short routes: a slant, checkdown, out route, curl, slant and another curl. His first completion, a checkdown in 11-on-11s, showed an ability to reset his throwing platform and throw from different angles, slinging a sidearm dump-off to running back Kevin Harris.

Both players dealt with significant pressure in the second and final 11-on-11 period, when Brissett took three sacks in seven snaps. Maye then hit Polk on a deep in-cut over the middle, his first downfield attempt of the day, before firing a couple incompletions around a

and hand-off.

For a full accounting of the quarterbacks’ practice performance, read the Herald’s separate story on Brissett and Maye’s day.

Patriots QB tracker: Drake Maye spends extra time with rookie, coaches shake up reps

Studs

DL Deatrich Wise

Wise recorded the cleanest would-be sack of practice, tearing of the left side to reach Brissett within two seconds of the snap. His sack ended Brissett’s final 11-on-11 period. Wise is often forgotten in the conversation about the Patriots’ pass rush, and may not start this yer, but remains a reliable piece of one of the better defensive fronts in football.

S Jabrill Peppers

His pass breakup aside, Peppers has established himself as a new cornerstone of this defense. He’s ranging from back to front during 11-on-11s and out-performing expectations in coverage thus far. It’s possible he could follow up one career year with another one.

Duds

OL Atonio Mafi

A 2023 fifth-round pick, Mafi is trying to learn to play center this summer and struggled Thursday. He sent his last snap over the head of rookie quarterback Joe Milton, marking the second straight day a backup Patriots center has botched a snap.

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QB Bailey Zappe

For at least one day, Zappe was demoted in team periods. He took snaps as the No. 4 quarterback, following sixth-round rookie Joe Milton during 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 periods. It’s possible Thursday’s changeup was pre-planned regardless of performance, but Milton also out-played Zappe with his new third-string reps.

Offensive notes

Top targets in team drills: WR Tyquan Thornton 5/6, Javon Baker 3/3, WR K.J. Osborn 2/2, TE Hunter Henry 1/2, WR Kayshon Boutte 1/2, TE Jaheim Bell 1/2, B Kevin Harris 1/2, RB Deshaun Fenwick 1/2
Drops: None
Top offensive line: LT Chukwuma Okorafor, LG Sidy Sow, C David Andrews, RG Mike Onwenu, RT Vederian Lowe

Quarterbacks

Switcheroo! Rookie Joe Milton and Bailey Zappe swapped places in the quarterback pecking order for team periods at the end of practice. During initial 11-on-11s, they worked on a separate field with likely scout-team players, while Brissett and Maye simultaneously sharpened their skills versus projected starters and backups.
Milton got off to a slow start, apparently drawing the ire of the coaching staff before he could call for his first snap. But the cannon-strapped QB rallied with two completions and later went 2-of-3 in his final period before a high snap sailed over his head.
Maye stayed late with Baker to take extra reps together.

Running backs

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett of the Patriots hands off to Rhamondre Stevenson on Wednesday during training camp in Foxboro. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Rhamondre Stevenson again took all the initial reps, followed by Kevin Harris and a slew of roster long shots: JaMychal Hasty, Deshaun Fenwick and Terrell Jennings.
The Patriots drilled new types of runs Thursday, featuring inside tosses and inside zone, complements to the base outside zone scheme they hammered home Wednesday.
Stevenson, Harris, Hasty and Fenwick each caught one pass in team drills. Harris worked with both Brissett and Maye.

Wide receivers

Have a day, Tyquan Thornton. His six targets doubled the next most popular receiver — fourth-round rookie Javon Baker — who repped almost exclusively with the third team.
Thornton didn’t wow with any single rep, but consistency has long eluded the former second-round pick, so Thursday marked real progress.
Meanwhile, Baker’s first catch came on an early slant pass from Maye, followed by a couple bullets from Milton in the opening 7-on-7 period. Baker plays with a burst off the line that’s unique to this group, but he’s had minimal time to separate himself after missing most of the spring with a thumb fracture.
Among the veterans, K.J. Osborn bounced back from an 0-for-1 debut Wednesday to catch both his targets and start in the slot with DeMario Douglas again sitting out team periods.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Reagor snatched the only passes they saw, while Polk and Kayshon Boutte went 1-for-2 on targets. Polk’s incompletion, however, was the result of a probable pass interference penalty.

Tight ends

Hunter Henry finished with a single catch in team periods, while his direct backup, Austin Hooper, went catch-less.
Seventh-round rookie Jaheim Bell secured his first grab of training camp on a stop route. Backup safety Jaylinn Hawkins nearly batted it away.
The Patriots trotted out 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two wide receivers), another indication that package could be a foundational part of their new offense.

Offensive line

Starting left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor told reporters after practice the coaches have told the offensive linemen to expect day-to-day changes up front during training camp. The staff held true to that promise Thursday.
Beleaguered backup Vederian Lowe replaced Calvin Anderson as the team’s starting right tackle, while Anderson served as the backup left tackle on an O-line that protected Maye. Lowe was in the area of at least one sack and another pressure allowed.
Onwenu continued to take reps at right guard, as the Patriots’ determine their best five O-linemen in search of a playable starting lineup.
On the backup O-line, third-round rookie Caedan Wallace played right tackle opposite Anderson. The Patriots believe Wallace can transition to left tackle, but he has yet to take any snaps on the blind side this summer.
Backup interior linemen Nick Leverett and Michael Jordan repped between Anderson and Wallace, while one of Mike Onwenu and Sidy Sow often filled the third interior spot.
Leverett worked as the team’s primary backup center, and Atonio Mafi snapped to Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton.

Defensive notes

Starting and second-string personnel during team periods: defensive linemen Christian Barmore, Deatrich Wise, Keion White, Armon Watts, Daniel Ekuale, Trysten Hill; linebackers Matt Judon, Jahlani Tavai, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Raekwon McMillan, Christian Elliss, Joe Giles-Harris; defensive backs Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Marte Mapu, Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Marco Wilson, Alex Austin, Jaylinn Hawkins, Isaiah Bolden and Joshuah Bledsoe.
Interceptions: None
Pass breakups: S Jabrill Peppers
Would-be sacks: DL Deatrich Wise, LB Joe Giles-Harris, CB Marco Wilson, Team

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Defensive linemen

Without Godchaux, Daniel Ekuale started next to Christian Barmore, and fellow backup Armon Watts saw a bump in snaps during team periods.
Backup defensive tackle Trysten Hill, who’s appeared in 32 games over five years, was among the first to rotate into the top defense from the sideline.
Matthew Judon and Keion White again started on the edges. White also moved around during 11-on-11s, from traditional defensive end to outside linebacker and even defensive tackle for a few reps.
Overall, a solid day of run-stopping (granted, the Patriots have yet to done pads). The top defensive units did not allow any run to break free downfield, unlike Wednesday.

Linebackers

No major changes here from Wednesday’s opening practice.
Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai sit atop the depth chart, and neither made splash plays during team periods.
Bentley is at the heart of the Patriots’ top defensive units in all drill. He was in the vicinity of two Bailey Zappe targets in the last period of 11-on-11s; one an incompletion and the other caught, though Bentley may have popped it loose in a game setting given how close he was when the ball arrived.
Backup inside linebacker Joe Giles-Harris burst through an interior gap for one would-be sack, breezing by Brissett in the pocket. He held a single finger up in celebration while play continued because quarterbacks can’t be touched in practice.

Jacoby Brissett, Ja’Whaun Bentley and Drake Maye of the New England Patriots of the New England Patriots during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Defensive backs

Again, the Patriots rotated cornerbacks in their top defense in 11-on-11s. Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Alex Austin and Marco Wilson all took snaps outside.
Wilson, the longest shot to make the 53-man roster among this group, lined up opposite Gonzalez in the first 7-on-7 period. He also collected a sack of Maye during the first 11-on-11 session, flying off the right edge on a corner blitz.
Wilson and Gonzalez both allowed two catches in team periods. Gonzalez yielded two curl-route catches to Tyquan Thornton, who beat Wilson on one reception.
Marcus Jones appears to be slotted as the Pats’ top nickelback, a role he failed to seize last year from Myles Bryant.
He was involved in the most notable play for defensive backs, swiping early and often at Ja’Lynn Polk’s arms on a slot fade throw during initial 11-on-11s that fell incomplete. It’s likely Jones would have been flagged for defensive pass interference in a game setting.
Core special teamer Brenden Schooler continues to take rotational reps at safety with the top two groups. His presence reflects a lack of depth at the position, assuming the Patriots treat 2023 third-round pick Marte Mapu as a linebacker.
The same could be said of Joshuah Bledsoe, a 2021 sixth-round pick with four career game appearances. Bledsoe earned a hurry in 11-on-11s, flying off the right edge on a safety blitz.
Quiet day for Kyle Dugger.

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Special teams

Punt returners: Marcus Jones, DeMario Douglas, Ja’Lynn Polk, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Reagor
The Patriots practiced punting early in practice, but never engaged in full 11-on-11 drills. In 7-on-7s, long snapper Joe Cardona, linebacker Jahlani Tavai and safeties Jabrill Peppers and Jaylinn Hawkins were among the regulars to join second-year punter Bryce Baringer.
Kickers Chad Ryland and Joey Slye have yet to partake in full-team field goal attempts. Both players worked to the side Thursday.

Extra points

Ex-Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola visited practice. Amendola is scheduled to return Friday and engage in fan activities for those in attendance.
Cornerback Christian Gonzalez, wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk, safety Kyle Dugger, defensive lineman Keion White and offensive tackles Chukwuma Okorafor and Calvin Anderson met with reporters after practice.
The Patriots will return to the field Friday at 11 a.m. and then enjoy their first off day of camp on Saturday.