Through two days of New England Patriots training camp, new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has seemingly instilled a key mindset into Drake Maye.
The young QB “won’t go broke taking a profit.” In other words, if there’s nothing there, just take what’s there and move on to the next play.
That’s been the case so far through the first two days of camp, and the results certainly speak for themselves. Maye connected on 14-of-15 attempts on Thursday, with the majority of those passes coming very near the line of scrimmage.
While we haven’t seen too many downfield throws, the fact that the second-year quarterback has been so efficient with the football is telling.
Last season, Maye often made a couple of quick reads and pulled the ball down, which saw him make the decision to take off with the football. At the same time, part of that stemmed from the offense under Alex Van Pelt and the lack of protection up front. There often also didn’t appear to be too many options when things broke down.
With McDaniels, his offense is generally one that provides options, especially in pressure situations. One thing past quarterbacks have talked about has been the fact that McDaniels does a good job of preparing them for the “worst case scenario,” which was evident with Jones in 2021.
In fact, that contrast became a significant source of frustration for Mac Jones when Matt Patricia took over the offense during what ultimately proved to be a frustrating 2022 campaign.
Fortunately, Maye has the luxury of having McDaniels in his corner heading into his sophomore season. So far, Maye has looked upbeat and confident, and he’s started getting into a solid rhythm that continued on Thursday.
During the team’s second public session, Maye again looked sharp and decisive. One thing that was evident was how well he’s been doing in terms of making his reads and getting the ball out of his hands fairly quickly. He’s also focused on another area new head coach Mike Vrabel has emphasized, which was for him to “remain a passer,” rather than giving up on a play and taking off upfield.
“I think just kind of remaining a passer longer when I scramble. I think that’s big,” said Maye this week. “Getting outside the pocket, remaining a passer longer, hope for some big plays, scramble plays, and just making the defense… I feel like I had good times last year, where I had some guys deep that I may have missed them or took off running instead. Just trying to remain a passer and just keep trying to work on footwork. I think that’s the big thing. New offense, new play actions, new concepts. Just try to time it up and get a good group.”
Granted, Maye had a close call on a play on Wednesday that was nearly picked off by Jabrill Peppers after making an ill-advised throw under pressure. But on Thursday, the corrections were made, and the result was a player who hit all but one throw in competitive drills.
While most of his throws were short attempts on Day 2, there’s clearly a method to McDaniels’ madness. The focus has been on trying to get positive yards on each series of downs, which was something Rhamondre Stevenson talked about after practice.
“Just be good on first down,” said Stevenson when asked about all the short passes. “Positive play on first down. Don’t go backwards, no pre-snap penalties, things like that. We did all right, but [there’s] still work to do.”
As much as everyone loves the deep ball, the short throws tend to open up those opportunities. As defenses start looking to take away things underneath, Maye has the arm to find an opening down the field, and that’s likely the payoff they’re hoping for from the foundation they’re laying right now.
That’s one of the things that makes Maye so unique. We saw multiple times last season that, unlike the previous seasons with Jones, Maye has the ability to attack the perimeter as well as get the ball downfield on a rope when a player comes open.
With Jones, opponents started keying in on the middle of the field, often taking away opportunities and forcing him to hold onto the football. Jones isn’t as mobile and doesn’t have the ability to throw on the run, especially down the field. They also weren’t afraid of him throwing deep to the sideline, and Jones has even admitted that he’s been hesitant in that area since he’s left New England.
In the case of Maye, it’s a different situation. He’s a threat both when running the ball, and he’s got a cannon of an arm even when he’s outside the pocket. His ability to throw on the run was evident, especially when you look at plays like this from last season.
Short throws help make plays like that possible, especially when guys begin cheating up and someone gets lost after slipping behind the coverage in the secondary.
So far, Maye’s made the most of what he’s been given, and he’s building some solid momentum here in the early going. Looking back at last season, the numbers show what Maye has the potential for, given how much he grew over the course of 2024 on third down. Through six games on third down after he became the starter, Maye was 25-of-48 (52.1%) for 328 yards with 4 TDs and 3 INTs. Over the final five games, Maye was 21-of-31 (67.7%) for 195 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INTs.
Getting into situations where they’re gaining positive yards and getting into more favorable third downs this season should help things even further.
Factor in Vrabel’s commitment to being a physical team and their emphasis on the ground game, and that should allow Maye and McDaniels to get creative. But as McDaniels said last month, these things take time.
“There’s so many little things that everybody needs to do,” said McDaniels. “There’s a trust that’s being built right now on the field. The more we do well, the more guys can trust each other. We’re continuing to focus on those things and emphasize the kind of identity that we want to create here.”
The key question now is whether or not Maye can make the plays as those other opportunities begin to open up. With McDaniels guiding Jones in 2021, there seemed to be plenty. The then-rookie out of Alabama finished the year with 3,801 yards passing, along with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. They also went over 20 points 12 times, including scoring 50+ twice.
The hope is that Maye will enjoy that same success. Given the promise he showed in his rookie year, it certainly feels like the sky’s the limit. But as McDaniels said, it’s all about doing the little things as they continue building their identity.
The good news is, if what we’ve seen so far from Maye is any indication, they’re definitely off to a good start.
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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.
