FOXBORO — Less than an hour before the Patriots opened their mandatory minicamp Monday, Bill Belichick described the upcoming three-day stretch as an extension of OTAs.

Meaning the Organized Team Activities the Pats conducted over the previous month-plus featuring non-padded practices, team drills usually run at less than full speed and players mostly in attendance, but not always.

Turns out, Belichick was right in every sense — for better and worse.

Offensive tackle Trent Brown missed Monday’s practice after missing a flight, according to MassLive, while star free-agent addition JuJu Smith-Schuster remained sidelined as an injury precaution. Brown’s absence during the regular season would leave the Pats paper-thin at his position. But in a non-padded OTA — er, minicamp — practice, that doesn’t matter.

Yet.

What did matter was the timing and organization of the starting offense, which again leaned heavily on tight ends Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki. Both veterans caught six passes across team drills conducted at various speeds. Mac Jones went 16-of-18 in the only competitive team periods, two 7-on-7 drills and one 11-on-11 period.

After practice, Jones declared the Patriots offense had made progress despite a rough finish. His confidence, he said, derived mostly from Bill O’Brien’s system; how the pieces all fit and how answers to all of Bill Belichick’s defensive problems were at his disposal. It showed.

Here are the rest of the Herald’s observations from practice:

Attendance

Absent: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, OT Trent Brown, OL Mike Onwenu, DL Lawrence Guy, WR Tyquan Thornton, DB Quandre Mosely, WR Kayshon Boutte

Limited: S Cody Davis

Non-contact jersey: LB Marte Mapu, OL Atonio Mafi

Dress code: Helmets and shorts

Play of the Day

Scotty Washington goes skyward

You are forgiven if you do not recognize he name of the Patriots’ third-string tight end, a former wide receiver who appeared in one game last season: the sad Christmas Eve home loss to Cincinnati.

But there was nothing sad about Washington’s appearance Monday, especially his first catch. Washington flew upfield on a go route during the opening rep of a 7-on-7 drill led by third-string quarterback Trace McSorley. Spotting reserve safety Joshuah Bledsoe in Washington’s back pocket, McSorley lofted a long ball a touch outside the left seam.

It landed more than 30 yards downfield, where Washington had slowed slightly, leapt and high-pointed the ball off Bledsoe’s head. Securing his catch with two hands, he turned and spun back toward the end zone with his prize.

Player of the Day

CB Jack Jones

Jones’ two pass breakups led all defenders, and he was in the area of multiple other incompletions. Between him, Jonathan Jones and Christian Gonzalez, the Patriots may well have a good problem on their hands picking two starting outside cornerbacks from that group.

QB Corner

Note: The passing stats below were tallied during competitive 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods only.

Mac Jones: 16/18

Notes: A solid, but unspectacular day from Jones. He completed close to 10 checkdowns across team drills, while backups Bailey Zappe and Trace McSorley both attacked deep more frequently. Jones did deliver the best passes of the day, and played with superior command and efficiency, but there’s more meat on the bones of this new offense under his direction.

Let’s see what the next two days have in store.

Studs

TE Mike Gesicki

Most of Gesicki’s catches came at the end of short, safe routes (curls, drags, stick routes, etc.), but the timing and chemistry between him and Jones is undeniable. It’s striking how quickly they’ve developed a rapport coming off two years of the failed and pricey Jonnu Smith experiment.

WR Tre Nixon

Call him minicamp Randy Moss.

A year after looking like was on the precipice of a breakout (spoiler alert: he wasn’t), the 2021 seventh-round pick sizzled again at minicamp. Nixon caught his last five targets in team drills, including a perfect post route throw from McSorley against cornerback Shaun Wade. If the season was ever moved up to July, Nixon might make the team.

Duds

DT Carl Davis

The 320-pound nose tackle replaced Lawrence Guy in the starting lineup during team periods. His most memorable play was jumping offsides.

WR DeVante Parker

Parker and undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham tied for being the intended target on a team-worst two pass breakups. But as a college quarterback learning a new position, Cunningham gets a pass here. The nine-year veteran does not.

Offensive notes

• Top targets in team drills: Ty Montgomery 7, Mike Gesicki 6, Hunter Henry 6, Tre Nixon 6, J.J. Taylor 5
• Penalties: Kendrick Bourne (illegal formation)
• Forget any talk of a quarterback competition. Jones took all of the starting reps in team drills. He was more accurate and decisive.
• He also dumped several checkdowns, which were a function of good coverage and sometimes disguise. Backup running backs J.J. Taylor and newly minted slot receiver Ty Montgomery benefited most.
• Montgomery’s role bears watching in light of James Robinson’s release. He was the Pats’ top third-down back in last year’s season opener before suffering a season-ending shoulder surgery.
• The Patriots’ top personnel grouping in team drills was a two-tight package featuring Rhamondre Stevenson, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.
• Their starting offensive line from left to right: Calvin Anderson, Cole Strange, David Andrews, Bill Murray/Jake Andrews and Conor McDermott.
• Right guard Mike Onwenu should return to his starting spot once he returns to health. He is not expected to participate in minicamp after undergoing ankle surgery.
• Jake Andrews also took reps at backup center, a job that should be his to lose. Fellow fourth-round rookie Sidy Sow took reps at offensive tackle.
• Bill O’Brien unleashed several creative screens in two team periods that looked purposed to work on that chapter of his playbook. Bourne, Montgomery and the running backs were the most common targets.
• Later, Bourne burst through the secondary for a touchdown scored against the blitz, a score he celebrated with Parker. On a lower note, Montgomery replaced him after Bourne committed the starting offense’s only pre-snap penalty of the day.
• Jones’ first incompletion during competitive periods was a hospital ball that led Gesicki right into Josh Uche’s zone. Uche registered the pass breakup merely by standing there as Gesicki carried his left-to-right crossing route straight into him.
• Later, Jones looked a bit careless in a closing 2-minute drill where the defense was supposed to yield completions. He joked about his two picks in the drill after practice.

Defensive notes

• Starting personnel used during 11-on-11 periods: defensive linemen Davon Godchaux, Deatrich Wise, Christian Barmore, Carl Davis and Daniel Ekuale; linebackers Matt Judon, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Josh Uche and Jahlani Tavai and defensive backs Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Jonathan Jones, Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones, Jalen Mills, Marcus Jones and Jabrill Peppers.
• Interceptions: Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips
• Pass breakups: Jack Jones 2, Christian Gonzalez, Josh Uche, Deatrich Wise, Mack Wilson, Marte Mapu, Isaiah Bolden
• Would-be sacks: Matt Judon, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Christian Barmore
• Penalties: Carl Davis (offsides)
• The interceptions for Dugger and Phillips were both bad flips Mac Jones made during a closing 2-minute drill that was supposed to be defended at a slower tempo, as Jones loudly reminded the defense after Dugger’s pick.
• That said, it was a strong overall day for the secondary. Gonzalez looked like a natural running with the starting unit, Jack Jones draped himself over most of his assigned receivers. Both of them rotated with Jonathan Jones at outside corner, where Marcus Jones took a few snaps while the elder Jones bumped inside.
• Gonzalez earned his pass breakup knocking a sideline pass away from DeVante Parker during the 2-minute drill. Moments earlier, Jack Jones batted away another pass to Parker on an in-breaking route. Jones’ first pass deflection came at the expense of undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham.
• Matt Judon and Christian Barmore’s sacks were both of the coverage variety, whereas Ja’Whaun Bentley would have immediately dropped Jones on a well-timed blitz up the middle.
• Bentley was a mainstay in the middle of the defense during 11-on-11s and 7-on-7s. Like several veterans, he appears to be entering a well-timed contract year that coincides with the middle of his prime.
• Excluding the messy 2-minute drill, the defense’s best stretch came in the preceding 11-on-11 period. Bentley opened with a sack, then Barmore earned his sack after a short completion. Next, Deatrich Wise batted down a pass at the line before Mac Jones hit Parker on a curl route and Kendrick Bourne on a slant.
• The defense “spun the dial” against Jones, showing him a variety of looks in team drills and reminding everyone that while Bill O’Brien’s new playbook gets all the attention, defensive players are installing an expansive, complex system, too.
• Jalen Mills took the majority of his reps and safety, where third-round rookie Marte Mapu continues to impress. In team drills, Mapu saw most of his snaps with the second-team defense.
• Quiet days for second-round rookie Keion White and pass-rushing fiend Josh Uche.
• Fourth-year linebacker Anfernee Jennings saw some run in 7-on-7s, but didn’t start a single 11-on-11 drill.

Special teams

• Punt returners: Marcus Jones, Jabrill Peppers, Myles Bryant, Demario Douglas, Ed Lee
• Kick returners: Isaiah Bolden, Ed Lee
• Starting punt team: Corliss Waitman, Joe Cardona, Matthew Slater, Chris Board, Brenden Schooler, DaMarcus Mitchell, Jonathan Jones, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Mack Wilson, Jahlani Tavai, Ameer Speed
• Starting kickoff team: Nick Folk, Matthew Slater, Chris Board, Brenden Schooler, DaMarcus Mitchell, Kyle Dugger, Jonathan Jones, Jalen Mills, Jabrill Peppers, Mack Wilson, Ameer Speed
• Incumbent veteran kicker Nick Folk led off field goal tries, while journeyman punter Corliss Waitman took the first reps during punting periods. Light day for rookie kicker Chad Ryland and rookie punter Bryce Baringer.
• As expected, the Patriots’ new core special team group appears to be Slater, Board, Schooler and Mitchell. Though Speed, a sixth-round rookie, will surely make a push. Seventh-round rookie corner/returner Isaiah Bolden is another name to remember come training camp, pending his impact as a return man.
• Christian Gonzalez repped with the second-team kickoff unit. He also saw action as a gunner on punt coverage.

Extra points

• Former Patriots Devin McCourty and James White visited practice. They joined ex-teammates Aaron Dobson and LeGarrette Blount, who attended OTAs as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship program.
• Penn State head coach James Franklin, defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and analyst Frank Leonard attended practice and spent several minutes speaking with Belichick. Leonard is an ex-Patriots scout and longtime college coach who previously worked at Boston College. Diaz visited minicamp last year.
• Director of player personnel Matt Groh was one of several staffers watching practice from the sideline.