Eight rookies dressed for the New England Patriots in the week one disappointing 20-13 loss to the Raiders. Some didn't play much, if at all, yet a few are worth talking about. Rookies in recent years, other than Drake Maye, who was foolishly precluded from any first-team reps for the entire 2024 preseason, and not until game four of the regular season, have not done much.
Talking about the 2024 draft, except for Maye, none of the other players have proven they can play at all in the NFL, and several are already gone, with more to follow. Like free agency, that draft was a disaster, but thankfully, Mike Vrabel entered the picture in 2025, and things began to look up. Seemed being the operative word.
Five rookies who participated substantially against the Raiders are worth a looksee and a grade for their performances. It starts with two offensive line rookie starters and moves on from there. Three rookies, offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, and wide receiver Kyle Williams (one catch for 12 yards) got incomplete grades.
Grading the Patriots' rookies season debuts against the Raiders
Will Campbell, left tackle
Any rookie in the NFL's first game has to be filled with jitters. It's their first taste of real NFL action, not the phony action of pre-season games. Fortunately, they had some competition in the joint practices with the Commanders and the Vikings before their exhibition games.
First-round pick Will Campbell has started at left tackle from the beginning. His pass-blocking, the subject of all kinds of questions, was decent, but he allowed a fourth-quarter strip-sack. His run blocking, predicted to be terrific, wasn't. He also had two procedure penalties.
His overall grade: C. Much more was expected.
Jared Wilson, left guard
Third-round pick Jared Wilson started at left guard. His performance was decent in pass-blocking. The Patriots' running game wasn't anything to gush about. He didn't stand out much, and that's usually a good thing for offensive linemen. Yet, the one time he did stand out, it was for the wrong reason. He was called for holding and put the Patriots in a hole, costing them 10 yards.
Grade: C
TreVeyon Henderson, running back
A lot was expected from Patriots' second-round pick, TreVeyon Henderson. He's even been touted in some circles as the Patriots' best running back. Against Las Vegas, he had an inauspicious debut with 5 carries for only 27 yards and 5 catches for a measly 11 yards. That was not exactly the explosiveness that was expected. It was a lackluster debut for an otherwise exciting player
Grade: D+
Craig Woodson, Safety
Craig Woodson started at safety, consigning highly paid Kyle Dugger to backup status. For a fourth-round pick to seize the starting spot from Dugger and help send Jabrill Peppers out the door is quite a statement. He played OK and justified Vrabel's confidence in selecting him in the fourth round.
Grade: B
Andres Borregales, Kicker
Fifth-round pick, Andres Borregales, raised eyebrows early by missing a makeable field goal in the first half that would have given the Patriots their first lead. It was an inauspicious debut. He leveled things with a field goal later in the half to then give the Patriots that three-point lead. Yet, the team counts on its field goal kicker to make all the easy ones, and his muff was unacceptable.
Grade: C
Those are the grades for the Patriots' rookies. Overall, they were OK, but didn't distinguish themselves. Yet, for a first game, they played respectably. The overall Grade is a C. (As for the coaching, that's another story altogether. They were completely outcoached.)