FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and the NFL:
1. Peppers & Vrabel: Safety Jabrill Peppers plans to coach when his playing career is finished, and he has kept a notebook through his nine seasons in the NFL highlighting things he wants to emphasize in that role. The notebook now reflects how Peppers sees a lot of himself in coach Mike Vrabel, who is in his first year with the Patriots.
"It's crazy because his first meeting with us, when he talked about establishing the identity, I only had to add maybe one or two things [to the notebook]," Peppers said after a recent training camp practice. "We see football the same way. We think it should be played the same way."
Peppers defined their shared belief this way: "Unrelenting effort and violence, super attention to details, fundamentals and technique, making good decisions on and off the field, and being a pro and treating you like a pro."
At 29 years old and coming off a season when he played just six games after being placed on the commissioner's exempt list while facing charges of assault and battery for which he was later found not guilty, Peppers is looking forward to a fresh start.
He has watched as other key contributors from past seasons -- a group including center David Andrews, cornerback Jonathan Jones, defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr., linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley and long-snapper Joe Cardona -- weren't brought back in 2025. Peppers also previously experienced NFL coaching transitions in which his role was significantly altered, making his standing on the team less secure.
This is the opposite of that, with Peppers chosen as one of the captains for the Patriots' Aug. 1 intrasquad scrimmage -- projecting as a cog in an attacking defensive scheme -- and with Vrabel previously calling out his top attributes. "I love Jabrill's energy. I like his passion for the game. I like his energy when he comes in the building," the coach said. "Those things are all very positive."
Players have echoed those thoughts, with fellow safety Jaylinn Hawkins saying Thursday after practice with the Minnesota Vikings: "Pep brings the juice. Pep is a dawg. And Pep is super smart."
In a quiet moment last week, Peppers took it all in as he enters his fourth season in New England.
"It was tough last year both on and off the field. Just to be able to come out here and focus on football and not have that weighing on me -- a whole new start, new scheme, a new environment, a new feel around the building -- it's been good for me," he said.
"I know it's been good for a lot of the guys here, but for me, in particular, it's definitely been good. The 'want to' to get to work. The 'want to' to lead by example and keep jelling with the guys, keep showing who I am to the coaches and players. It's a whole new team, not much carryover, a whole new identity, and I'm blessed to still be here, because it could have gone a whole different way for me."
As for his notebook, Peppers said he hopes it's a while until he needs it as a coach, but he still finds it useful as a player.
"I just don't know if I want to coach at the high school, collegiate or NFL level. I plan on playing until I can't play anymore. And you know how soft they're making the game, I should be able to do it a little bit more longer -- even if I'm way older up there, full-time special team guy, dime package," Peppers said with a laugh.
"It's my book, from every coach I've had since I've been in the league, and I view it as 'you can learn something from everybody.' So, it's things I've taken from them and then my section of 'How I would want to play each and every year as long as God would let me do it.' I thought it was pretty cool [with Vrabel]: I kind of already knew, watching those guys play in Tennessee, they were always tough against the run, stout defense. I definitely already had a sense of the identity, but it's different when you're sitting in that room."
Peppers, who is a proud University of Michigan alum, noted just one area in which he decisively differs with Vrabel.
"The only thing is he went to Ohio State, so I'm sure if he could, he would take that back," Peppers cracked.
2. Maye's week: Quarterback Drake Maye drew praise from Vrabel for his mental toughness during two practices with the Vikings in Minnesota last week.
Vrabel noted the challenge of facing defensive coordinator Brian Flores' blitz packages and said, "It's easy to go in a blender when you're seeing a bunch of this stuff, kind of scrambling, and turning one less-than-favorable play into a s--- storm. I didn't see that."
That should serve Maye (no interceptions in practice) well entering the regular-season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who came up the ranks under Flores.
As for Saturday's 20-12 preseason win over the Vikings, in which Maye played the first two series against Minnesota backups, he was hard on himself for taking a delay of game penalty and being high on some early throws. He finished 4-of-7 for 46 yards.
"I was a little amped early in the game," Maye said. "A couple plays I wish I had back."
3. Dugger's status: Having sixth-year safety Kyle Dugger on the field deep into the fourth quarter on Saturday was eye-opening, with safeties Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson given starter-type treatment by being pulled from the game earlier. That sparks a question about whether Dugger's spot on the team is in jeopardy.
Then there was the way the game ended, with Dugger intercepting a pass in the end zone with no time left but nearly having it stripped away from him and recovered for a touchdown -- which was close to falling in the category of "bad football" that Vrabel has said he wants his team to avoid.
Was Dugger trying to get down, only to have momentum and a Vikings player hold him up? Or was he actually attempting to return the interception?
Those were lingering queries after the game, right there with Dugger's uncertain future.
4. Chism's charge: If he hadn't done it already, undrafted free agent wide receiver Efton Chism III (Eastern Washington) likely played his way on to the 53-man roster with his stellar performance against the Vikings, registering seven catches for 71 yards and an 11-yard catch-and-run touchdown in which he eluded and/or broke tackles from six defenders.
Fun nugget from Dan Roche of WBZ-TV after the game: As Chism was in the middle of a TV interview, fellow wideout DeMario "Pop" Douglas walked by and said, "Chism for president!"
It was a reflection of how Chism's understated, grind-it-out approach -- which includes 5 a.m. meetings with assistant coaches -- coupled with his on-field production have earned the respect of his peers.
Daniel Dopp breaks down Drake Maye's rise in fantasy ADP, jumping 12.9 spots in the past week.
5. Boutte's bounce back: When third-year wide receiver Kayshon Boutte arrived for the start of voluntary spring practices, his standing on the team was in question, in part because of a crowded depth chart but also because Vrabel previously hinted that his physical condition wasn't at the desired level.
That's no longer the case, with Boutte projecting as a starter alongside Douglas and Stefon Diggs while delivering highlights such as a versatile and productive outing during the team's intrasquad scrimmage (Boutte's team posted an "upset" win) and a climb-the-ladder Hail Mary-type catch Thursday in Minnesota.
"Really impressed, proud of, happy for the way he's approached this training camp," receivers coach Todd Downing said of Boutte. "He's a player that in the offseason was kind of figuring a couple things out about this offense and decided to make a commitment to doing things the right way and the way we know to be the winning formula. I think you've seen the results of that with his play and production."
Boutte was one of five game captains Saturday in Minnesota, joining Maye, cornerback Marcus Jones, outside linebacker Harold Landry III and All-Pro special-teamer Brenden Schooler.
6. Backup QB: Vrabel said this past week he was hoping for more consistency from backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs, which includes better ball placement and timing. It didn't sound like a wake-up call as much as a straightforward analysis after Dobbs threw two interceptions in Wednesday's practice with the Vikings and also was shaky at times in those areas in the team's preseason opener.
Undrafted free agent Ben Wooldridge (Louisiana) is No. 3 on the depth chart, and while Vrabel didn't rule out him possibly challenging Dobbs for the top backup role, he didn't make it sound like that was close to happening at this time.
Dobbs was 11 of 16 for 106 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in Saturday's game.
7. Bryant's rise: Offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, the 2025 seventh-round pick out of Missouri who was a bookend to Jets first-round pick Armand Membou, has been one of the surprise stories of training camp.
Vrabel rewarded the 6-foot-6, 320-pound Bryant with the start at right tackle in both preseason games as projected starter Morgan Moses was given the games off.
"I remember when we first put pads on, he had really high pad level. We talked about it, we coached it, we showed him, and I think that has improved," Vrabel said of Bryant. "I kind of like Marcus; he's kind of a happy, lucky-go kid. I think there's a lot of good football in front of him."
Bryant has expanded his work to include left tackle, as well, with O-line coach Doug Marrone noting he is "trending in the right direction."
8. DC upstairs: First-year defensive coordinator Terrell Williams has spent both preseason games in the coaching booth, instead of the sideline. That's similar to how former Titans D-coordinator Shane Bowen did things under Vrabel. "There's a lot of positives to being upstairs, to being able to see things and being able to call the game from there," Vrabel said.
9. Conley the fan: Undrafted free agent offensive lineman Jack Conley of Boston College grew up a Patriots fan in New Canaan, Connecticut.
After a practice last week, he reflected on one his top memories as a fan: attending the team's 59-0 win over the Titans on Oct. 18, 2009. Two things stood out to him on the day Tom Brady threw for 360 yards and six touchdowns: How the teams were in their throwback jerseys and that it snowed.
10. Did you know? The Patriots, who will visit the New York Giants on Thursday, had faced the Giants for 17 straight preseasons (2005 to 2022) before the streak was broken in 2023 and 2024.