Patriots OC Addresses Drake Maye’s Improvement

It's not the first time that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has worked with a young quarterback, but this year is the first time that quarterback has been Drake Maye.

During yesterday's 20-12 win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Patriots offensive coordinator took time to speak with Scott Zolak, Devin McCourty and Jason McCourty on the WBZ broadcast. During the chat, he shined a light on how his young signal caller handled the week of joint practices in Minnesota, and how his growth and development in New England has impressed McDaniels.

“I was really excited about the way he handled those practices this week,” McDaniels said Saturday. “Practice by nature is always difficult because you put yourself in a scenario where you run the same thing over and over again. That’s not really how a football game goes. There were a lot of long yardage situations that he had to handle. A lot of 2-minute drills. A lot of difficult low-red zone situations that he was a part of. I think we saw a lot of growth from him.”

Maye's playing time in the preseason win was short, just like the week that preceded it. The Patriots starter came in and almost made a bad mistake early on. He overthrew third-year wideout DeMario Douglas — who was wide open down the seam — and got lucky that a potential interception was dropped in the secondary.

The young quarterback knows the game doesn't count, but for him, he's trying to be perfect on each drive that he takes the field.

“I want to win,” Maye said Saturday. “I missed Pop high. He was wide open sitting in a zone out there. There’s a couple plays we should have back, but I thought the guys up front blocked well. It’s preseason, but these guys are still trying to tackle us and stop us. We’re trying to go down and score.”

Maye left the game in the first half, finishing his brief day with a statline that doesn't scream anything. He went 4-for-7 passing the ball for just 46 yards before backup Josh Dobbs replaced him in the huddle.

Overall, the Patriots are using Maye's summer performances as a way to ease him back into the flow of games. Historically, New England would use its starting quarterback for maybe two or three drives max during the preseason, but Maye's been willing to suit it up all of August.

That mindset has his coaching staff excited to work with him, and McDaniels says that excitement should boil over to the fanbase on Sundays.

“He did a great job taking care of the football, had great poise,” McDaniels added. “And there’s not going to be a more difficult defense to have to deal with before the ball is snapped – and then combine that with how good they are after the ball is snapped. Really excited about where he’s going, where he’s headed. I love the way he works. Love the way he approaches every day. Patriot Nation should be excited, too.”

The Patriots have a shorter week on their schedule, heading down to New York to face the Giants on Thursday night in the preseason finale. It's unclear whether Maye will get reps in the game, but if it's anything like the first two weeks of summer game action, he will likely start the game. After all, it's just another chance for him to get better before his second year in the NFL.

“I thought it was good work," Maye said. Good for us to see different stuff, see different defenses, see different talent. Coach Flores does some good stuff on defense, so it’s good for us to see the stuff he does and learn from it and carry it into the regular season.”