FOXBORO, Mass. — There does not appear to be much of a quarterback battle at New England Patriots minicamp. And based on early returns, there shouldn’t be one.

Patriots incumbent starter Mac Jones is ahead of Bailey Zappe in the QB pecking order and from a talent perspective so far through three open organized team activities sessions and one minicamp practice. Jones appears to be more composed and more accurate than Zappe. Jones has taken almost all of the Patriots’ first-team reps, while Zappe and Trace McSorely have been relegated to backup duties. Jones seems very, very comfortable with his receivers in Bill O'Brien's offense.

He did say after practice that he'd love to have wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, but he also praised his current running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.

Here’s what else we saw from Monday’s minicamp session:

— The following players were absent:

RB James Robinson
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
WR Tyquan Thornton
DB Quandre Mosely
DB Tae Hayes
WR Kayshon Boutte
OL Mike Onwenu
OT Trent Brown
DT Lawrence Guy

Most of those are health-related. Guy reportedly is in a contract dispute, while Brown didn’t make his flight due to weather.

— Outside linebacker Matthew Judon returned for minicamp after being absent for voluntary OTAs. Defensive backs Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones, outside linebackers Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings, linebacker Terez Hall, punter Bryce Baringer, offensive tackle Riley Reiff and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux also were back after missing Friday’s OTAs.

— Rookie linebacker Marte Mapu and rookie guard Atonio Mafi donned red non-contact jerseys.

— Jones went 10-of-12 in 11-on-11s and was 30-of-32 overall in practice. Zappe was 10-of-13 in 11s and 20-of-25 overall, while McSorely went 4-of-5 in 11s and 8-of-12 overall.

— Jones was intercepted during a later two-minute drill, but things had ramped down to a walking tempo.

— There was one surprise inclusion in a group of pass catchers while quarterbacks worked off to the side during special teams drills: tight end Scotty Washington joined Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki and running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

— During another special teams series, defensive back Myles Bryant was working on his coverage skills away from the rest of the team with defensive backs coaches. Bryant is a regular in first-team defensive sets at safety and in the slot.

— Here’s how the Patriots divided up their receivers during individual drills:

Slot: Ty Montgomery, Tre Nixon, Ed Lee, Demario Douglas

Outside: DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Malik Cunningham, Raleigh Webb

— This was a big practice for Gesicki and Henry. They caught 10 of Jones’ 30 completions. One of Jones’ incompletions was a target to Gesicki. Uche hit him at the catch point and apologized since minicamp is unpadded.

— Mapu has been a spring standout. He forced another incompletion in practice. Cornerbacks Jack Jones and Ameer Speed also made pass breakups. Linebacker Mack Wilson and defensive end Deatrich Wise batted passes.

— It’s much too early to say what the Patriots’ starting secondary will look like when the season begins, but we did see one set during a two-minute drill with rookie Christian Gonzalez and Jack Jones as the outside cornerbacks and Jonathan Jones in the slot.

— Monday’s punt returners: Bryant, Marcus Jones, Demario Douglas, Ed Lee and Jabrill Peppers

— Marcus Jones hasn’t been a heavy participant in team drills but was working outside on Monday.

Featured image via Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports