New England Patriots links 5/08/23 - ‘Electric’ WR Demario Douglas a three-level threat

TEAM TALK

• Evan Lazar connect the dots that made first-rounder Christian Gonzalez a perfect Patriot.
• One-on-One with Christian Gonzalez. (2 min. video)
• From Draft to Pats: Watch and follow along with Christian Gonzalez, from the moment he was selected during the 2023 NFL Draft all the way to his arrival in Foxboro. (2.25 min. video)
• Patriots All Access: 2023 Draft Class and More! (19 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss shares some quick-hit weekend thoughts: Rookie minicamp; Christian Gonzalez surprises HS alma mater before attending rookie camp; Revisiting the 2020 draft; Questions on the Patriots schedule; Jim Nagy on Marte Mapu’s chase speed and range; More.
• Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Sunday Patriots News: Now the team building begins.
• Karen Guregian’s Sunday NFL notes: Patriots great Kevin Faulk is bullish on LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte. Not coachable? “All I can tell you is I don’t know where that came from. Because when I was with that kid, he was very coachable,” Faulk said. “When you say a kid’s not coachable, that means a coach can’t relate to who the kid is as a player. That’s all that is to me.”
• Andy Hart’s Sunday 7: Mike Gesicki one of many ‘clean slate’ Patriots’ offensive newcomers.
• Mike D’Abate (Patriots Country) Patriots announce dates for Rookie Minicamp: May 12-14 at Gillette Stadium.
• Doug Kyed relays Steve Belichick explaining the reasoning behind New England’s timing for rookie minicamp.
• Taylor Kyles explains how Demario Douglas could fill multiple roles for the Patriots; The Pats have a history with undersized receivers, but Douglas fits this draft class’ mold of explosive three-level threats who play bigger than their height-weight numbers. /Good read.
• Doug Kyed says the Patriots broke their own mold when they selected Sacramento State LB Marte Mapu in the third round.
• Cam Garrity (PatriotsWire) Bigger role for Rhamondre Stevenson could awaken Patriots’ offense.
• Jordy McElroy (PatriotsWire) ESPN names Tyquan Thornton as one of biggest winners in 2023 NFL draft.
• CBS Boston hears from ex-Patriot CB Logan Ryan who shares what it’s really like to be coached by Bill Belichick.
• Danny Jaillet (PatriotsWire) German newspaper reports that Patriots will play Saints in Frankfurt.
• Geoff Maglicchetti (Patriots Country) Patriots named prime ‘landing spot’ for Cowboys ex Ezekiel Elliott.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Sheil Kapadia (The Ringer) What we learned about every AFC team this NFL offseason. Kapadia learned he didn’t like the Patriots before the draft and kept that point of view after.
• Experts (ESPN) 2023 NFL draft: Debating favorite picks, big head-scratchers. Christian Gonzales to the Patriots included as a favorite pick. Marte Mapu and Chad Ryland included as head scratchers.
• Peter King (ProFootballTalk) FMIA: Offseason power rankings; Carolina and Green Bay’s QB strategies. Patriots 20th, in the “They’ve got holes” category. “New England. Other than new OC Bill O’Brien, it’s hard to get excited about a team that finished losing five of the last seven, with the D/special teams allowing 29.7 points per game in the last seven weeks. And then defensive leader Devin McCourty retired.”
• Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports) Ten bold predictions for 2023 NFL season: Cowboys in NFC title game, Patriots have worst year under Belichick. /’Eesh...
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Report: Saints-Patriots set for Germany in November.
• Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) 2023 NFL schedule release: Predicting top matchups, including season opener, Thanksgiving games, Black Friday
• Albert Breer (SI) Inside the six-week Aaron Rodgers trade negotiation: Late-night texts, discreet meetings and the Brett Favre precedent.
• Jason Owens (Yahoo! Sports) Jim Irsay floats tampering violation after report that Commanders contacted Andrew Luck.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL Network lays off what it calls a “limited number” of employees.