For Patriots rookies in 2018, making the team is about acclimating as quickly as possible to life in the NFL.
Luckily for them, they’re surrounded by a locker room of teammates who have gone through the same experience. While the cornerstone players of the Patriots’ dynasty might seem like they simply began their football careers as mature veterans, the truth is that they all began as rookies like everyone else.
Even Tom Brady, in his 19th season, was once an anonymous first year player. Robert Kraft is said to have erroneously called the future Hall of Famer “Kyle” in a short conversation, mistaking the then-unknown backup quarterback for Kyle Brady, a tight end on another team.