Heading into Drake Maye’s tenure in New England, the overall concern was whether or not the rookie could overcome some of the issues people felt existed with his perceived “floor” that some felt might delay him from working towards what analysts believed was a high ceiling.
So far, things seem to be going quite well.
According to MMQB writer Albert Breer, who appeared on Arbella Early Edition on NBC Sports Boston Thursday night, the Patriots are pleased with where Maye is at so far, and that he continues to take small steps forward thanks to all the work he’s been putting in.
“I’ve heard it’s going great,” said Breer. “Honestly, that’s from multiple people today. There’s people who’ve been there every day. They say the progress has been incremental. Now, that doesn’t mean he’s making these huge leaps, but day over day, they’re seeing really good progress.”
“You see the arm talent. What they’re really trying to do right now, this guy has… I mean, what they found since they got him in the building is he has almost no footwork training. So, what he was doing in college was without having much training at all when it comes to tying his feet to how he throws, the play call. So, they’ve been working through that.”
Another note that Breer mentioned is the fact Maye has also been undergoing a transition from being in the shotgun, something he did for most of his collegiate career, to working more under center. That’s where a lot of the footwork has come into play, and as he’s started putting it together, the results have been positive.
“He hasn’t done a lot under center, historically, even going back to high school and college,” said Breer. “A lot of his work has been under center and trying to get him to learn to do that. But when he ties it all together, you see the talent and what they’re seeing is elite downfield accuracy. You see that, where you can throw it to the third level at a really high level. You’re seeing an ability to go through progressions. They’re seeing him going from one to 2, to 3 based on what they’re able to throw at him in coverage.”
The latter part was evident this week. There was reportedly one series during the open session of OTAs where New England’s defense took away his first two reads, with Maye then spotting an open play on a slant midfield where the receiver slipped through the coverage and took off. That led to some frustration from Jabril Peppers, who apparently wasn’t pleased as he spoke to his fellow defensive backs about the play.
However, it was a win for Maye, who made a nice throw despite having his first couple of reads covered. That came after the rookie simply kept his cool and continued through his progressions, and that’s the type of thing the club has been really happy with. It’s also something Breer believes will speed up Maye’s chances of potentially getting himself on the field sooner than later.
“Then there’s not panic and I think that’s another thing that can help him get on the field,” said Breer. “It’s like what you want to be sure of when you’re a coach is that he’s not going to go out there and kind of look like he’s all over the place. What they’re seeing right now is a kid who does not panic, who isn’t forcing the ball when the picture gets jumbled on him, because that’s what’s going to happen with all young quarterbacks.”
“Again, it doesn’t mean he’s ready to start, but what they’re seeing is a kid who is learning and who is applying what he’s learning onto the field, which is the first step towards becoming a better quarterback.”
There’s been a lot of talk over the last week or so about the distribution of reps, which has seen Maye finding himself behind Bailey Zappe on the depth chart during the early portion of OTAs. Breer said that it’s tough to read too much into that at this point, because the club is simply trying to through things with the entire group, which includes trying to iron some things out on the defensive side of the ball as well.
“Because they’re trying to work through everyone with everyone right now,” said Breer on why Maye isn’t getting more reps. “For example, one thing I’ve heard they’re doing down there is they’re working on the communication on defense. The two starting safeties are playing together a lot, but they’re playing together with a mix of different corners. They’re moving from group to group together.”
“They’re trying to get Jacoby Brissett ready to start. He’s getting most of the reps with the ones, but Drake Maye has gotten reps with the ones, not necessarily the practices that are open to the media, but he has gotten reps with the ones, and Bailey Zappe has gotten reps with the ones. I think the feeling is over time, you’re going to start to see Drake Maye working more consistently with the twos, and then you see whether or not you can turn into a real competition.”
For now, it’s a positive start for a player who has such high expectations. But it sounds like he’s slowly making progress, which is good news as the team continues preparing for the upcoming 2024 season.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
