​After four practices in t-shirts and shorts, the New England Patriots took the field for five consecutive fully-padded sessions last Thursday. The following days saw the return of Gabe Jacas from the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list and brought about a reversal of fortune for the New England offense. On this week’s Patriots Roundtable Podcast, hosts Eddie and Tyler provide their takeaways from the Patriots’ first padded practices of the summer, reviewing New England’s offensive explosion and the impact Jacas can make in the edge rushing rotation now that he’s officially in the fold.Early team periods at training camp were largely dominated by the defense, led by one of the NFL’s elite secondaries. But when the pads came on, the new-look Patriots’ offense took center-stage with an impressive three days of work. Drake Maye finished those sessions a combined 38-of-49 passing and leaned heavily on wide receiver A.J. Brown, who registered 18 catches and excelled in the red zone. Speculation surrounding Kayshon Boutte’s future saw more developments, with Karen Guregian of MassLive reporting that the receiver requested a trade earlier this offseason. While he awaits a resolution, Boutte and DeMario Douglas continue to be engaged with the first-team offense. Free agent addition Romeo Doubs is beginning to show a growing rapport with Maye as they take more reps together. Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III have both flashed, rounding out a solid start to the summer for one of the league’s deepest receiving corps. What do the early returns mean for New England’s passing attack during the regular season? We examine.Defensively, edge rusher remains the headliner for the Patriots, and further developments have now shifted focus onto the field of play. Rookie edge rusher Gabe Jacas (selected No. 55 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft) took the field for the first time on Saturday after lengthy contract negotiations and a stint on the NFI list delayed his start to training camp. At the top of the rotation, second-year rushers Elijah Ponder and Bradyn Swinson have stacked consecutive days of high-level performances, continuing the forward momentum they began to generate in the spring. How will the Patriots’ edge group shape-up now that (mostly) all of their pieces are present and accounted for? We react.So far, there have been signs for optimism on both sides of the ball during training camp. With just one session remaining before joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 11 and the preseason opener to follow on Aug. 13, New England’s offense and defense have each laid claim to victories in intra squad competitions. Now, we’ll see how both units fare against other opponents — beginning with Indianapolis and then against the Philadelphia Eagles.What were your biggest takeaways from the Patriots’ first padded practices of training camp? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.–Follo