FOXBORO — The Patriots are done easing into training camp.

It’s time for real football.

On the eve of their first padded practice, the Pats worked for two full hours Sunday, their longest and most competitive practice of the summer. No surprise, defense won the day.

But before Matthew Judon and Co. dominated team periods, the Patriots’ young pass-catchers finally flashed. Javon Baker badly beat Christian Gonzalez, the Pats’ best corner, for a reception in 1-on-1 coverage drills. Later, Baker collected an over-the-shoulder grab at full speed to clinch the play of the day.

Kayshon Boutte bested Gonzalez, too, for a disputed catch deep downfield in the same drill. Seventh-round rookie tight end Jaheim Bell also extended for a 1-handed effort over safety Kyle Dugger during 1-on-1s, and second-round rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk pocketed three receptions in team periods.

As the Patriots continue to install a new offense, with a new coordinator, at times shaky rookie quarterback and talent-starved offensive line, these are the moments they will point to as progress. Monday’s padded practice will bring the team’s most telling look at how the 2024 Patriots are developing, who they are and who they could be. Until then, their coaches and front office will study practice tape like Sunday’s, determining whether these flashes are peeks into their future or mirages born from the summer heat.

Elsewhere at practice, Drake Maye had a couple of pre-snap snafus, the Pats stuck with a rookie at left tackle, a veteran D-linemen swatted two passes and a new weapon made his practice debut.

Here are the Herald’s complete practice observations:

Attendance

DeMario Douglas #3 of the New England Patriots makes a catch during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Returned: RB Antonio Gibson

Absent: DL Christian Barmore, S/LB Marte Mapu

Limited: WR DeMario Douglas

Non-contact jersey: CB Shaun Wade

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

Notes: Hello, Antonio!

Veteran running back Antonio Gibson was a full participant for the first time this summer. Starting slot receiver DeMario Douglas confirmed he is dealing with a minor hand injury, which has thus far kept him out of team drills. The team is proceeding cautiously with Douglas, who otherwise hasn’t been limited.

For a second straight practice, Barmore was a non-participant, and Mapu walked into practice 20 minutes after it started just to watch drills. Shaun Wade remains in a non-contact jersey. Kendrick Bourne appeared on-field in a practice jersey and participated in stretching, but was not involved in any positional work or team periods.

Play of the Day

Javon Baker goes Willie Mays

Foxboro, MA – New England Patriots wide receiver Javon Baker makes a catch during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

It was one thing for Javon Baker to gain yards of separation upon exploding off the line. It was another for him to track a deep sideline throw and stay inbounds.

But it was an entirely a third thing, an almost foreign experience for any regular observer of the Patriots’ wide receivers, to see Baker angle left at full speed, neck bent toward the sky, and shoot his arms out at the last second to cradle an over-the-shoulder grab for a 40-yard gain. Baker showed a complete package of receiving skills on the play, the undisputed highlight of training camp.

Player of the Day

DL Deatrich Wise

Beware No. 91.

Two practices after notching a clean sack of Jacoby Brissett in team periods, Wise batted one of Brissett’s passes down Sunday and gave the same treatment to rookie quarterback Joe Milton. Wise is not starting with the top unit, but he’s performed like one of the Patriots’ best defenders in training camp. No one else has recorded a sack and pass deflection this summer.

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: 7-of-13, sack (39-of-55, INT, 5 sacks)

Drake Maye: 11-of-16, sack (43-of-60, INT, 3 sacks)

Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye of the New England Patriots throw in tandem during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Notes: Drake Maye had to reset and re-huddle before taking his snap of 7-on-7s. Maye, in fact, had two procedural errors Sunday, including another one during 11-on-11s. It’s unclear what the source of the error was, but Maye has now had two straight practices with pre-snap issues called out by the coaching staff. In the same opening 7-on-7 period, he took a “sack,” for taking too long to find a target.

After going 2-of-3 in that drill, Maye went 3-of-4 in a full-team setting, hitting completions on an out route to Ja’Lynn Polk, shallow cross to Javon Baker and curl route run by backup tight end La’Michael Pettway. He then went 3-of-4 during another 7-on-7 session, with a nice dig-route completion to K.J. Osborn, and finished by completing 60% of his passes in a brief full-team period.

Overall, Maye’s 11-of-16 stat line belies another conservative practice including errors that may have led to penalties in a game setting. During team periods, Maye completed just a single pass more than 10 yards downfield; marking the second time that’s happened in four practices. Downfield aggression and the general evenness in their play are the greatest differences between Brissett and Maye right now.

Studs

TE Austin Hooper

Hooper overcame an early drop in 1-on-1s to secure four of five targets in team periods. One catch was a leaping, twisting grab on an extended play that ended with him out-fighting Kyle Dugger for possession and a 30-plus-yard gain. Hooper had maintained maximum effort on the play, which ended with Jacoby Brissett rolling right and launching a deep ball down the right sideline once he spotted Hooper having multiple steps on his man.

Drake Maye tracker: Patriots rookie QB’s touch on deep ball a highlight

CBs Marcus Jones/Azizi Hearn

One of the quarterbacks’ favorite corners to pick on pushed back in a major way, going 3-1 during 1-on-1 coverage drills and tallying a pass breakup during team periods. Hearn remains a long shot to make the roster, but he earned high marks Sunday.

Meanwhile, Jones went 3-0 in individual drills and also added a pass deflection. During 1-on-1s, he stripped the ball late from undrafted rookie David Wallis for a fumble, underscoring the importance of fighting to the end of a play.

Duds

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

Smith-Schuster’s caught three passes in team drills through four days, and his only target Sunday got knocked away from behind. He went 1-2 during 1-on-1s. Despite having an offseason to rest his ailing knee, Smith-Schuster has struggled to separate at any level, and it’s becoming harder to envision him making a significant, positive impact on this year’s team.

WR K.J. Osborn

It’s been a roller-coaster camp so far with Osborn, who saw his only target get intercepted on Day 1, then caught a couple passes in team periods on Day 2, doubled that total on Day 3 and went 1-of-4 on targets Sunday, including one that was broken up. He looks every bit the part of a No. 3 receiver being asked to do too much, but there’s still time.

Offensive notes

Foxboro, MA – New England Patriots wide receiver K.J. Osborn makes a catch during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Top targets in team drills: TE Austin Hooper 4/5, WR Ja’Lynn Polk 3/4, WR K.J. Osborn 1/4, TE La’Michael Pettway 3/3
1-on-1 receiving drill winners: TE Jaheim Bell 3-0, RB Rhamondre Stevenson 3-0, Antonio Gibson 3-0, WR Javon Baker 2-1
1-on-1 receiving drill losers: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster 1-2, Polk 1-2
Drops: Hooper, Osborn
Top offensive line: LT Caedan Wallace, LG Sidy Sow, C David Andrews, RG Mike Onwenu, RT Chukwuma Okorafor

Quarterbacks

After Maye’s performance, the most interesting daily storyline with this group is Joe Milton, the rocket-armed, sixth-round rookie, battling Bailey Zappe for the No. 3 job.
Zappe out-performed Milton on Sunday, with a tidy 5-of-7 showing in team periods. Meanwhile, Milton gifted a gimme interception to backup linebacker Joe Giles-Harris on what should have been a checkdown over the middle during 7-on-7s.
Milton finished 3-of-7 with an interception over all team periods. Like Maye, he did not push the ball downfield.
Both Milton and Zappe were limited to one period of reps 11-on-11s and 7-on-7s.

Running backs

If this is the Antonio Gibson the Patriots receive all season, they landed a steal.
The 26-year-old went 3-0 during 1-on-1 receiving drills, showing excellent burst and soft hands. He separated on every reps and has already proven himself to be a natural outside-zone runner, making him a strong fit for the Patriots’ new scheme.
Gibson, of course, has a history of fumbling, which will be tested as soon as Monday with the Pats’ first padded practice.
Rhamondre Stevenson ripped off Sunday’s  longest run on the opening snap of 11-on-11s. He barreled off the right side, an early theme of training camp, where the Pats’ top backs are regularly finding room behind right guard Mike Onwenu.
As a pass-catcher, Stevenson went without a catch in team periods, getting overthrown on his only target. But like Gibson, he was perfect in 1-on-1s, including a one-handed snatch over the head of backup linebacker Raekwon McMillan.

Wide receivers

Foxboro, MA – New England Patriots’ Ja’Lynn Polk tries to make a one-handed catch defended by Azizi Hearn during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Second-round rookie Ja’Lynn Polk led all wideouts with three catches, beating Jonathan Jones on a physical slant and backup corner Isaiah Bolden twice.
Cooling down from 1-on-1s, Javon Baker had two receptions during team periods, one from Maye and another off Zappe’s hand.
K.J. Osborn, Tyquan Thornton and JuJu Smith-Schuster continue to lead the receivers in positional drills and team periods. Polk is next in line, and if Baker keeps building, this group will be due for a shakeup.
Baker, it’s worth repeating, simply moves different from the rest of the receivers. He boasts more burst and sprints almost with a non-contact form of violence, including a big head and shoulder shake he used to lose Christian Gonzalez for a catch in 1-on-1s.
Undrafted rookie JaQuae Jackson has nabbed a couple catches during team periods in back-to-back practices. Something to monitor.

Tight ends

As Austin Hooper built toward his best practice of training camp, the Patriots kept trotting him and Hunter Henry out together to open team periods. Until further notice, this looks like a base 12 personnel (two-tight end) offense.
Nice day for La’Michael Pettway, who made three catches and is likely battling Michael Wilcox, a superior blocker, and seventh-round rookie Jaheim Bell for the No. 3 tight end job.
Bell was the best tight end in 1-on-1 receiving drills by far.

Patriots rookie growing more comfortable with position switch

Offensive line

Third-round rookie Caedan Wallace started at left tackle and Chukwuma Okorafor started at right tackle for the second straight practice. Both players are attempting to transition to left tackle after spending the last four years (and more, in Okorafor’s case) on the right side.
Between them, the Patriots’ top O-line appears to have stabilized with Sidy Sow at left guard, David Andrews snapping and Mike Onwenu at right guard.
It’s unclear if and/or when the Patriots intend to try Onwenu back at right tackle, but four straight practices with him on the interior indicates the staff clearly favors its depth at tackle than guard.
To that point, backup guard/center Atonio Mafi fired two wayward snaps late in team periods. Mafi is repping as the team’s third-string center, and has botched a snap in half of the team’s training camp practices to date.
Veteran backup Nick Leverett, who played guard in Tampa Bay, continues to play backup center and snap to Maye in team drills. At tackle, he was often flanked by Vederian Lowe (left tackle) and Calvin Anderson (right tackle), who have played both positions so far in camp.

Defensive notes

Keion White #99 of the New England Patriots takes a break during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)

Starting and second-string personnel during team periods: defensive linemen Davon Godchaux, Deatrich Wise, Keion White, Armon Watts, Daniel Ekuale, Trysten Hill and Jeremiah Pharms Jr.; linebackers Matt Judon, Jahlani Tavai, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Raekwon McMillan, Christian Elliss, Joe Giles-Harris, William Bradley-King; defensive backs Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Alex Austin, Jaylinn Hawkins, Isaiah Bolden, Joshuah Bledsoe and Marco Wilson.
Interceptions: LB Joe Giles-Harris
Pass breakups: DL Deatrich Wise 2, CB Marcus Jones, CB Alex Austin, CB Isaiah Bolden, CB Azizi Hearn, LB Steele Chambers
Would-be sacks: Team 2, DL Keion White
1-on-1 coverage drill winners: DB Marcus Jones 3-0, S Kyle Dugger 3-1, CB Christian Gonzalez 2-1, LB Joe Giles Harris 2-1
1-on-1 coverage drill losers: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley 0-3, LB Jahlani Tavai 0-3

Defensive linemen

With Christian Barmore still sidelined, Daniel Ekuale stepped next to Davon Godchaux along the Patriots’ top defensive line. Again, they were flanked by Matt Judon and Keion White.
White earned his first sack of training camp flying off the left edge and working against rookie quarterback Joe Milton and the third-team offense. White is a popular breakout pick this season, a leap that will partially be contingent on his ability to add pass-rush moves outside of his bull rush and inside rip move.
Another strong day of run defense, though the D-line’s run stuff rate fell by almost half from close to 40% on Friday down to 20% Sunday. Backup defensive tackle Armon Watts has been  among the steadier players up front.

Linebackers

All good stretches must come to an end. After Ja’Whaun Bentley turned in back-to-back strong practices, he allowed catches on all three reps he took during 1-on-1s. Bittersweet news: he had company.
Jahlani Tavai also went 0-for-3 in that drill losing twice to Antonio Gibson and then Kevin Harris. Both veterans remain in the middle of everything the Patriots are running in team periods.
Joe Giles-Harris, who grabbed the only interception of practice, was also the only linebacker to win multiple reps in 1-on-1 coverage. Good day for him.
Shout-out little-known Steele Chambers, a member of the fictitious All-Pro name team who earned one of the last pass deflections of the day by jumping a pass over the middle.
Has anyone seen Josh Uche this summer? He’s yet to leave his mark through four practices.

Defensive backs

Foxboro, MA – New England Patriots cornerback Alex Austin waves to fan as he arrives for training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Bouncing back from a team-worst two catches allowed Friday, Marcus Jones played the best football of any defensive back in Sunday’s practice. His forced fumble in 1-on-1s — a rarity — was a true highlight.
During team periods, Jones, Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones remain the top three cornerbacks, with both Joneses flipping between outside corner and nickelback.
But if there’s a young corner who could push for snaps outside, it’s Alex Austin. The second-year corner tallied a pass breakup for the second straight practice, knocking away a pass intended for Osborn on a jerk route he ran for the veteran over the middle.
Isaiah Bolden, a fellow second-year corner, stopped a deep Brissett pass intended for Ja’Lynn Polk during 7-on-7s. Bolden, like Marco Wilson, still resides on the roster bubble and takes occasional first-team snaps.
No Marte Mapu meant more snaps for backup safeties Joshuah Bledsoe and Brenden Schooler, a core special teamer.

Special teams

Kickers Chad Ryland and Joey Slye continued their position competition, going 3-of-4 on field goal attempts at the end of practice. Both missed from 33 yards, the distance of an extra point, then drilled field goals from 37, 40 and 42 yards away.
Through two kicking periods this summer, Ryland is 7-of-8 and Slye, a veteran journeyman, is 6-of-8.

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For the first time all summer, the Patriots worked a full-team punting period. They have yet to practice kickoffs 11-on-11, though several players practiced catching and returning them, working opposite Ryland and punter Bryce Baringer.
Kick returners: WR Jalen Reagor, WR DeMario Douglas, WR K.J. Osborn, WR Ja’Lynn Polk, RB Antonio Gibson, RB Kevin Harris, WR David Wallis
Punt returners: DB Marcus Jones, Reagor, Douglas, Osborn, Polk

Extra points

The Patriots will open their next practice Monday at 11 a.m. As of late Sunday, weather forecasts called for rain.