FOXBOROUGH — After four padless practices last week, the New England Patriots finally put the pads on for the first time in their 2022 training camp on Monday.

The first padded practice didn't bring many surprises as players got back into their natural playing element for the first time since January. A few players returned to the practice field, though, and some others showed some signs of improvement.

Here are seven observations from the Patriots' first padded practice of training camp.

Patriots 2022 training camp observations

Mac Jones solid in 7-on-7s, but inconsistent in 11-on-11s

The first padded practice of the year carried a similar theme to the padless practices from last week. Jones looked sharp in 7-on-7 drills again on Monday, but wasn't too great in 11-on-11s.

Jones was 5-for-6 in 7-on-7 drills on Monday, consistently making correct reads in throws without having to face defensive linemen. Kendrick Bourne was Jones' favorite target through the session, catching two of three passes (corner Jalen Mills broke up the pass on the other). Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor, and Rhamondre Stevenson had the other receptions from Jones.

Jones' lowest moment of the day came on his first pass in the 11-on-11 drill. On a play-action pass, Jones comfortably threw a ball over the middle to second-round rookie Tyquan Thornton. However, cornerback Terrance Mitchell was sitting right in his zone and picked off the pass easily.

After that, Jones had some nice moments. In the second 11-on-11 session, Jones completed his first pair of passes, throwing short tosses to Jakobi Meyers and Rhamondre Stevenson. His play of the day arguably came on a play when the pocket began to collapse, forcing him to step up and make a throw deep to DeVante Parker roughly 40 yards down the field.

On his next pass, Jones rolled right before throwing across his body to Jonnu Smith for 10 yards.

Jones finished the day going 5-for-9 in 11-on-11s and went 1-for-3 in his three red zone throws during the session.

DeVante Parker the star of the day, winning battle with Malcolm Butler

The former Miami Dolphins receiver got all of the shine in the first two days of camp, with one of his catches over Mills being a highlight of a camp so far. After a quiet pair of practices on Friday and Saturday, Parker showed why the Patriots gave up a third-round pick for him over the offseason.

In a 1-on-1 drill that pitted receivers against corners on deep throws from quarterbacks, Parker adjusted on a deep ball from Bailey Zappe, shifting around the sideline to catch a pass around Butler.

Parker beat Butler a second time during 11-on-11s. When Jones bought more time by stepping up in the pocket, the receiver created several yards of separation on a deep ball that would've easily been a touchdown because there was no safety help.

Butler did get some revenge. When the 11-on-11 drill moved into the red zone, Butler broke up a pair of passes Jones threw to Parker. However, those balls were a bit underthrown, putting Butler at a bit of an advantage.

Other receivers have impressive moments, too

Prior to Monday, Bourne was pretty quiet throughout much of training camp. The veteran receiver had some sessions during 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s in which he went without a reception or even a target. The majority of those drills were held in the red zone, though, and Bourne tends to do most of his damage in the open field.

As the Patriots began to use more of the field for team drills on Monday, Bourne performed better. He was able to create separation for a pair of receptions during the 7-on-7 drills and created enough separation on a third, but Jones's pass wasn't strong enough. Bourne also made a pair of impressive catches in the 1-on-1 drill, catching a pass against Mills and catching another pass back-shoulder from Jones.

Thornton had his best moment in camp on Monday, too. The rookie caught a deep pass from Jones along the sideline in the 1-on-1 drill that required him to get high up over Joejuan Williams and carefully land his feet inbounds.

Bailey Zappe bounces back after brutal Saturday practice

The Patriots' rookie backup quarterback actually posted the same stats as Jones in the 7-on-7s (5-for-6) and 11-on-11s (5-for-9).

Some of Zappe's completions were easy, such as when Kristian Wilkerson was left wide open over the middle. Others seemed unlikely, like a tipped pass to Wilkerson. But the rookie had to be happy to see his passes land in his receivers' hands successfully after going a combined 6-for-17 on Saturday.

Zappe also showed some decent footwork, but that was in part because his relatively small frame for a quarterback (he's a generous 6-foot-1) makes it tougher for him to make reads down the field.

Cole Strange didn't have the best first padded practice of his NFL career

The Patriots' first-round rookie got a nice welcome to the NFL moment in his first rep in 1-on-1s against the defensive linemen. Second-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore won the battle with relative ease. Veteran defensive tackle Henry Anderson, who the Patriots signed from the Jets in 2021, gave Strange some trouble on his second 1-on-1 battle. Patriots coach Bill Belichick had a chat with the rookie guard afterward.

How the Patriots ran the ball

While the Patriots were in pads on Monday, there was still no tackling involved. So, the Patriots' increased usage of running the ball in 11-on-11s didn't really show too much as running backs who ran the ball several yards down the field might have been tackled at the line of scrimmage.

We did get to see how they might run the ball, though. With the changes on the Patriots' offensive coaching staff, players on that side of the ball said things were moving quicker than last year. New England ran some outside runs, noticeably for Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson on Monday. Playing outside the hashes would seem to benefit faster players.

Multiple players return to practice

Two possible defensive starters made their training camp debuts on Monday. Cornerback Jonathan Jones returned from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list after dealing with a shoulder injury that forced him to miss most of the 2021 season. Safety Jabrill Peppers, who tore his ACL with the New York Giants last October, was also returned from the PUP list.

Jones figures to return as the starting nickel corner, where he was one of the best in the NFL for multiple seasons prior to his injury. Peppers should play some role in run defense situations because the safety has done most of his damage close to the line of scrimmage.

Cornerback and special teamer Myles Bryant also came off the non-football injury list and defensive end Deatrich Wise was present, but he didn't participate at practice after being absent for the previous three practices. Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer was absent for his third straight practice and hasn't thrown since the Patriots' first practice of camp.