The New England Patriots re-signed Julian Edelman, added Brandon LaFell and welcomed Danny Amendola back from a nagging groin injury, leaving Kenbrell Thompkins as a forgotten man throughout the offseason.
After one training-camp practice, Thompkins is back on the radar in a crowded wide receiver corps.
Thompkins stole the show on Thursday, building on a strong showing in offseason practices.
"He made some great plays," Tom Brady said, via the Boston Herald. "I think he's certainly capable of it. It's exciting for a quarterback when you see a guy make those types of efforts and lay out and catch the ball like he did.
"It's fun to be out there with him. I have a lot of confidence in him, a lot of trust. He's a great guy."
Brady also noted that Thompkins "works his tail off" and possesses a contagious competitiveness that "just elevates the rest of the team."
Taking advantage of Aaron Dobson's early-camp absence, Thompkins even got typically dour coach Bill Belichick to throw a few compliments around.
"Hard-working kid, hard-working kid," Belichick said Friday, via the Boston Globe. "One of our hardest workers. Really tries hard to do everything right. Very attentive, very coachable."
The Patriots wide receivers recently made Around The League's list of position battles to watch. It's with good reason.
Several of the fringe wideouts, including Thompkins, have the potential to lead the team in receiving yards if they can get past the roster guillotine in late August.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" offers up team-by-team training camp previews of the NFC East and NFC West.
