Thursday. Let’s recap the action." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhitePats Pulpita New England Patriots communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpPatriots NewsOpinion and AnalysisContribute!About the SiteTopicsPatriotsOddsShopStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementFiled under:Patriots AnalysisPatriots Offseason Coverage6 winners and 3 losers from the Patriots’ mandatory minicampNew Andre Tippett Jerseys Stitched ,47commentsNew England wrapped up its three-day camp on Thursday. Let’s recap the action.EDTShareTweetShareShare6 winners and 3 losers from the Patriots’ mandatory minicampGreg M. Cooper-USA TODAY SportsThe New England Patriots’ mandatory minicamp is in the books, and it certainly was eventful as the reigning world champions practiced on three consecutive days. While the drills were held without pads or any live tackling and are therefore impossible to properly evaluate — it is a teaching camp, after all, as Bill Belichick pointed out earlier this week — we still got a first glimpse of what the 2019 Patriots might look like.With all that in mind, let’s take a look at who positioned themselves well over the last three days — and who did not.Winner: WR Maurice HarrisAll but two spots on the Patriots’ wide receiver depth chart are open, and free agency signing Maurice Harris has a strong case to get one of them — at least when judged on his minicamp performances. After all, he was one of the most heavily involved pass catchers over the last three days and used in a variety of ways during team drills: he lined up all over the field, and appeared to be comfortable no matter where he was put. The best sign, however, might be that he was targeted three straight times by Tom Brady during 11-on-11s on Wednesday.Winner: LB Jamie Collins Sr.Jamie Collins turned into a star defender during his first stint with the Patriots because of his outstanding athletic abilities and how the coaching staff used them. It seems as if little has changed: Collins was active all during minicamp as a coverage player and pass rusher. He generally was moved around the formation quite a bit, lining up on and off the line, on the interior and the edge. It will be fun to see how his role develops in training camp, but right now the ex-Brown looks like a key piece on New England’s defense.Loser: WR Dontrelle InmanWhile one offseason addition at wide receiver — the aforementioned Harris — stood out for his involvement, another did for being virtually invisible during 11-on-11 drills: Dontrelle Inman failed to catch even a single pass in team work this week. While a lot will change over the next few weeks, especially when pads come on during training camp Youth Tedy Bruschi Jerseys , the current situation does not look favorable for Inman as he seems to be near the bottom of the position depth chart at the moment.Winner: TE Matt LaCosseNo position on the Patriots’ roster is undergoing a transformation like tight end: with Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen and Jacob Hollister no longer part of the equation, all of the spots on the position depth chart are up for grabs. Judging by minicamp, free agency addition Matt LaCosse has his eyes set on one of them. The 26-year-old looked comfortable in his new environment and like the best receiving tight end on the team. As things stand right now, he appears to be the number one tight end.Loser: P Ryan AllenThe incumbent at the Patriots’ punter position was not bad per se during minicamp — it’s just that his challenger, rookie Jake Bailey, was noticeably better in some areas. Ryan Allen never was the most powerful kicker, but the difference in strength between the two players was obvious on all three days and not helping the veteran keep his job. What might, however, is his consistency and overall well-rounded skill set. It may not be flashy, but it is Allen’s best bet.Winner: P Jake BaileyWhile not all was perfect, Jake Bailey still showed why the Patriots opted to invest a fifth-round draft pick in him in April: the rookie punter consistently out-performed Allen when it came to hang-time and also appeared to be comfortable doing some directional kicking. He needs to work on his consistency and situational ball placement, but appears to have all the tools to become a successful punter at the next level. And as such, the winner of the current competition.Winner: RB Damien HarrisWith Sony Michel missing minicamp for reasons unknown at the moment, third-round draft selection Damien Harris saw plenty of action as the ‘big back’. The rookie was used as the lead option during Wednesday’s session that focused more on the ground game Tedy Bruschi Jerseys Stitched , and looked as solid as can be expected given the setting. Safe to say that Harris has taken advantage of Michel being out — and be it just in the form of additional reps.Loser: QB Danny EtlingAfter spending his entire rookie season on the Patriots’ practice squad, Danny Etling saw some competition added to the quarterback room this offseason in the form of fourth-round draft pick Jarrett Stidham. And it seems pretty obvious which of the young passers is higher up on the depth chart, as Etling attempted only twelve passes during team drills this week — far fewer than any other quarterback. While things can still trend upwards training camp, Etling appears to be on the outside looking in at the moment.Winner: CB Stephon GilmoreStephon Gilmore is a first-team All-Pro cornerback, so why should he even be mentioned among the winners of minicamp when his value and role are already established? Because he was just that good during all three practices. The 28-year-old’s movements seem effortless and when he was matched up against first-round pick N’Keal Harry, he erased him from the equation. But even when going against more experienced options, Gilmore excelled. The former Belichick assistant recently spoke about his former boss."Before becoming one the most successful head coaches in college football history, Nick Saban worked as an assistant under Bill Belichick in Cleveland: as the Browns’ defensive coordinator he worked alongside Belichick from 1991 through 1994. Along the way, Saban was able to get an insight into the mind of the man who would later become the most successful head coach in NFL history with the New England Patriots.Recently, Saban shared some of the knowledge he acquired while coaching for Belichick’s Browns in the early ‘90s. “Sometimes players are kind of depending on that reinforcement all the time in practice, but in the game there’s no coach out there. I just coached like that when I was an assistant,” the six-time national champion told reporters when speaking at the opening of Alabama’s spring scrimmage last week.“We’d have a scrimmage at the Cleveland Browns and Belichick would chew my butt out,” continued Saban, who left Cleveland after the 1994 season to take over as head coach at Michigan State. “It’s like ‘let the players play.’ And I was like ‘wow, I never had my butt chewed out for coaching Youth Steve Grogan Jerseys , teaching.’ But I have to say the same thing sometimes to our coaches now.”“There’s a time when you just gotta let the players play because in the game, they gotta know what to do, they gotta know how to do it, they can’t depend on somebody else to make a call for them, they can’t depend on somebody else to recognize things for them,” Saban said about Belichick’s reasoning behind his philosophy. The long-time coach, who won five national titles since joining Alabama in 2007, said that he also used the same approach in his own practice sessions nowadays.Belichick himself has spoken numerous times about the value of having smart players on the field. Back during the 2009 playoffs, for example, he praised wide receiver Randy Moss for his ability to diagnose plays and coverage patterns relative to what coaches may or may not see from the sidelines. This emphasis on football intellect is, of course, one of the driving factor behind the Patriots’ personnel moves — whether it is trading for a player like Moss, drafting Dont’a Hightower, or giving Tom Brady virtually free rein to make decisions.You can watch Saban’s anecdote about Belichick’s coaching philosophy here: