FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots canceled their final practice of mandatory minicamp Wednesday, instead opting for a team-building activity. The offseason program concludes Friday, after which players will be off until training camp begins at the end of July.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from the last two days of practice:
1. Tackle depth remains a concern.
After missing Monday’s practice, Trent Brown attended Tuesday but did not do much outside of warm-ups and spent most of his time on the lower fields away from the team. The 30-year-old Brown also did not attend any of the voluntary OTAs open to reporters this offseason.
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The offensive line struggled with pass protection last season, as quarterback Mac Jones ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in sack percentage and average amount of time in the pocket. The Patriots hired Adrian Klemm as a new position coach, parting ways with senior football adviser Matt Patricia, who spent much of his time last season working with the offense.
Adding Klemm should serve the Patriots well, but questions remain surrounding their personnel. The Patriots did not draft a starting-caliber tackle, instead relying on Brown, Conor McDermott, and their free agent pickups of Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson.
In Brown’s absence, the Patriots initially started Reiff on the right and Anderson on the left. But McDermott took Reiff’s spot during minicamp. Reiff, who can play both sides, took reps on the left with the second unit, with rookie Sidy Sow on the right.
The combinations will likely remain in flux throughout training camp, but the Patriots certainly need Brown back in the mix. At his size (6 feet 8 inches and 370 pounds), Brown supplies a formidable presence on the line when healthy. Just ask outside linebacker Matthew Judon.
“He’s a massive human being,” Judon said. “It’s just hard to get around that type of arm length and that kind of width. When he’s out here, you can see it with our line. With Trent out here, you can see just the confidence with our line step it up a notch.”
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It is unclear why Brown seemed unfit to practice during minicamp. When he signed a two-year contract to return to the Patriots in March 2022, the deal included weight-related incentives. Brown has not spoken to the media this offseason, and he tweeted the zipped-lips emoji Wednesday.
Regardless of the issue, Brown is the only “premium” tackle the Patriots have. They could create significant cap space via trade ($11 million, with $1.25 million in dead money), but as long as Brown is on the roster, New England needs him healthy on the field.
“He’s got to be the best every week, week in and week out, so we can have the best chance of us winning,” Judon said.
2. The defense is picking up right where it left off.
As safety Jabrill Peppers noted Tuesday, the Patriots are returning the entirety of their starting defense with the exception of recently retired captain Devin McCourty.
McCourty’s departure creates a sizable void, but the Patriots seem well-equipped to fill it. In fact, Peppers believes the defense will be even more deceptive without McCourty.
“You kind of knew where Devin was going to be most of the time,” Peppers said. “He inserted and he rotated down, but for the most part, you knew 80-90 percent of the time he was going to be in the post. Now, you don’t know where anybody’s going to be.”
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The defense features a number of versatile players, able to play different roles in multiple spots on the field. The safety group, even without McCourty, seems particularly deep with Peppers, Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, and Jalen Mills. Rookie linebacker Marte Mapu also has fared well in his reps at that position.
Mapu is among the younger players hoping to have an impact, along with cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez, Jack Jones, and Marcus Jones. All seem in line to log meaningful snaps.
The Patriots ranked second in the league last season in percentage of opposing drives ending in an offensive score (30.5) and tied for second in turnovers forced (30). They also led the league with five pick-sixes, and returned two fumbles for touchdowns.
As the offense sputtered, the defense often kept the team competitive. Another productive performance this season undoubtedly would be critical to a postseason push.
“We’re just building off last year,” Peppers said. “We’re just trying to look for ways where we can get ahead, how can we disguise — awareness things, things that we might not have necessarily put our best foot forward with last year. We’re trying to take that next step.”
3. It makes sense for the Patriots to host DeAndre Hopkins.
New Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster reported to Gillette Stadium for minicamp but did not take part in any practices while nursing an injury. Coach Bill Belichick called Smith-Schuster “day-to-day.”
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An injury also kept Tyquan Thornton sidelined for both days of minicamp, after the second-year receiver flashed during voluntary OTAs.
New England’s receiving corps already looked rather underwhelming on paper, but the pair of absences underscores just how tenuous the situation is. DeAndre Hopkins, even at 31 years old, would immediately upgrade the room.
Tight ends Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki surely will play prominent roles in the passing attack, perhaps even leading the team in targets based on the distribution during minicamp. But the addition of a No. 1 receiver would be extremely worthwhile.
The Patriots are scheduled to host Hopkins Wednesday and Thursday. If the sides manage to reach an agreement, then the offense becomes much more intriguing in its bounce-back year.
Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com.Follow her on Twitter @nicolecyang.