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FOXBOROUGH — While the New England Patriots fell to the New York Giants in their preseason opener on Thursday, they opted not to play many of their starters in what resulted in a two-point loss.
The decision to rest key players gave several players opportunities to shine on Thursday. There were a few who are on the bubble to make the 53-man roster that took advantage of their chances against the Giants.
3 Patriots players who impressed in the preseason opener
Kristian Wilkerson
Wilkerson was Mac Jones' favorite target when the then-rookie quarterback was taking snaps with the second unit during the preseason in 2021, recording 13 receptions for 147 yards a year ago.
Wilkerson was again the favorite receiver of the backup quarterbacks on Thursday. Brian Hoyer and Bailey Zappe targeted Wilkerson 12 times against the Giants, with the third-year receiver catching eight of those passes for 99 yards.
A third of Wilkerson's receiving yards came on one catch. Wilkerson made a nice move to create instant separation on the line of scrimmage, allowing Hoyer to lead him on a go route down the field for a 33-yard completion:
Brian Hoyer airs it out to Kristian Wilkerson for a 33 yard gain pic.twitter.com/PSx448Ve64
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) August 11, 2022
Zappe actually failed to connect with Wilkerson on his first couple of passes, but the two settled into a groove as the second half went along. On one pass from Zappe, Wilkerson turned around right as the ball was about to hit him in the face, making the grab, giving the Patriots a 14-yard gain.
Wilkerson was Zappe's dependable receiver on the touchdown drive that put the Patriots ahead with less than five minutes left. On one catch, Wilkerson stuck both his feet in barely along the sideline for an eight-yard gain. Later in the drive, Wilkerson caught a pass roughly five yards from scrimmage before shedding a few tackles to create a nine-yard gain.
Thursday was a positive development for the third-year receiver, who has been up and down for much of camp.
Sam Roberts
After a quiet first couple weeks of camp, the sixth-round defensive tackle stood out in his first NFL game action on Thursday.
Roberts was one of the Patriots' leading tacklers against the Giants, recording six combined tackles (two solo). He did a few little things as well that don't show up on the typical stat sheet. For instance, Roberts drew attention on a pressure up the middle that allowed Patriots edge rusher Josh Uche to record a sack in the first quarter.
Roberts ended up recording three pressures on Thursday. He had an 8.6 pressure rate, per Pro Football Focus. For reference, Patriots defensive lineman Christian Barmore had a 12.6 pressure rate last season, so not a bad start for the rookie. Roberts also drew a holding penalty.
The defensive line is probably settled outside of one spot. Undrafted free agent LaBryan Ray has been a standout in camp so far and likely has the inside track for that final spot, with Barmore, Lawrence Guy, Davon Godchaux, Henry Anderson, and Deatrich Wise Jr. likely to make the roster. A solid performance on Thursday should keep Roberts in the mix.
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Tre Nixon
This last spot honestly could have gone to Lil'Jordan Humphrey, who had six catches for 62 yards and a touchdown on Thursday. Nixon had a couple more flashy moments, though.
The second-year receiver was one of the surprise standouts of minicamp. However, the momentum didn't really carry over into training camp as he has been stuck with the second unit and hasn't made much of an impact during practices. The first half of Thursday's game didn't look good for Nixon, either, as he had a crucial third-down drop.
The tide began to change a bit for Nixon in the second half. On Zappe's first pass of the second half, he found Nixon deep. While the ball was a bit underthrown, Nixon adjusted midair to make the 36-yard reception:
Bailey Zappe ➡️ Tre Nixon = 36 yardas#ForeverNE | #NYGvsNEpic.twitter.com/gSYLpbzYms
— Nación Patriota (@nacionpatriots) August 12, 2022
On the same drive, Nixon caught a pass along the sideline from Zappe in which he had to fight for the ball, hauling it in for a 32-yard reception. He finished with four receptions for 81 yards:
Tre Nixon makes another nice contested catch on a seam route pic.twitter.com/sCGjfpEUqE
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) August 12, 2022
Nixon was also involved on special teams, returning a kick for 25 yards.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick spoke highly of Nixon on Friday.
“Hardworking kid. Tough kid [who's] looking for an opportunity — has worked hard, got an opportunity,” Belichick said. “This is the time to take advantage of those opportunities, whether it's in the return game, as it was for Tre and Myles[Bryant] or whether it's in other phases of the kicking game as a coverage player or blocker on the return team. You can have one returner, so sometimes those players work in both spots. They return, they also play up in the return part of the formation, the vice or whatever it is.
“So, guys that show the aptitude in practice to be competitive in those situations, earn the opportunity to play in the game and show what they can do. So Tre would certainly fall into that category. Nobody works harder than he does. He's one of the hardest working players on the team.”
The receiver situation is interesting for the Patriots. Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, and Tyquan Thornton should all be locks to make the squad. However, Wilkerson and Nixon could be too good to cut, and having six or seven receivers on the roster might be too much for the Patriots. There have been reports that Agholor could get moved to create an extra spot, which would strengthen Wilkerson and Nixon's chances to make the roster.
