TRANSCRIPT: Josh McDaniels Press Conference 6/2

Here’s what New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had to say while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026.

On how he would describe A.J. Brown’s skillset:

“Big, physical, aggressive, explosive, very good hands. He’s just a competitive guy, and you watch him play and there’s a force to the way that he plays the game. So looking forward to getting used to the things that he can do that I don’t know about, which I’m sure there’s many of those. Had an opportunity to have a few different receivers come into our system at times, and you’ve heard about them, you’ve seen them, you’ve watched them play on tape, but then to actually get them on the grass and watch them do different things, it just brings the picture to life. So I’m looking forward to seeing all those things as we go.”

On if this is different than anyone he coached previously:

“I don’t know. This is a big man. Randy was coiled, certainly, and fast and all the rest of it. I think they’re all, honestly, they’re all a little different, and I say ‘they’ meaning I’ve been fortunate to have a chance to be around some really good ones. I’m not sure if I’ve been around one just like him. Maybe the closest thing I’ve seen was Gronk. So, this is a big guy, does a lot of things well and looking forward to seeing how we can acclimate him and fit him into our system.”

On how much he enjoys this process, getting a guy of his caliber, a proven guy, a guy who’s got a weapon, they need to use in creative ways:

“I mean, I love the opportunity. I love the challenge of … our system has always been the same in terms of get the players, find out what they do best, and then try to figure out how to fit what we’re doing around the players. That’s the most important thing. Could some things change, or we do some different things based on what we see Romeo [Doubs] do and what A.J. can do and what some of the other guys do? Sure, that happens every year. So that’s an exciting opportunity for us as coaches to just evaluate it, give everybody a bunch of opportunities, and then hopefully we make some good decisions as we head through training camp, into the regular season, about the best way to use our guys and to allow them to go out there and make plays.”

On how he goes about matching up the skill set of what Drake [Maye] does really well:

“Very similar. Give Drake opportunities to work with him. He’s already started with our group that’s here and I think they develop a chemistry and those kinds of things happen over time. I don’t think you’re going to force it. Certainly, nothing that they have done apart from one another is going to be that significant until they actually get an opportunity to rep together. So I’m looking forward to that opportunity this week, the rest of this week, next week, and obviously into training camp, but those things kind of have a knack of figuring themselves out, and I think one of the things that’s really cool about veteran players when you acquire them like this is you get to sit down and ask them how they see the game, what are they good at? Because they’ve done a lot of things that maybe I haven’t done, or called or coached. I’ve done that with players before. I look forward to doing that with A.J.

On last year he was asked if there was any pressure on him or on Drake to get the ball to Diggs at the time, similar question now, if there’s more stress on anybody in terms of the decision makers offensively to make sure they use a player like that:

“I mean, I think if you get guys like this that certainly have a history of being super productive, I think it’s just our job to make sure that they’re involved significantly in what we’re doing. Does it mean we can guarantee the ball goes to him on a certain amount of plays? Not necessarily. But, that’s— I think that’ll all happen and shake out over time as it did with Stef. I remember our first OTAs with Randy. I mean, I don’t know if we could complete a pass, honest to God, at that time. So, I mean, it was, you know, it’s a process and, hopefully, if we’re doing our job the right way, which I have a great deal of faith and trust in our staff, we’ll figure out what spots to put them all in and then call those things that our guys do the best, and we’ll let Drake make the decision about where the ball goes.”

On how he would describe Drake Maye based on what he’s seen from him in the offseason in his second year working with him:

“Yeah, intentional, purposeful every day. It’s a different— this offseason is different than last. Last offseason, we were just getting to know the language and learning how to operate within a system of offensive football, and this year we’re trying to take that and then go to the next phase of that, the next level of that, in his case, which is obviously playing the position of quarterback. So he knows a hell of a lot more than he did last year at this time. He’s trying to either really turn the corner and perfect some things that he has an opportunity to do that with, or we’re trying to learn a few new things and evolve as a player and as an offense. So he’s had a great attitude, super fun to be around every day. He’s a sponge like he was last year. It’s just that it’s a more accelerated version of us both.”

On seeing the video [from the Softball event], if he’s broken down his swing:

“Yeah, I wish I was there. I had a family thing, but it sounded like the guys had a great time, and obviously an awesome purpose and cause. This group, man, I tell you, they really rally around one another in terms of the things that they’re all involved in off the field, which I think is a great thing for our team, our community. So, that looked like fun. I missed it.”

On how disappointed he was to lose Julian [Hill]:

“Yeah, that sucked. First of all, for him, I mean, he’s a great, great kid, great person. He was going to be a really good addition this year. I still see that down the road. But you talk about a team-first guy that works his butt off and was doing a whole lot of things right. That’s the game we play. Unfortunately, there’s going to be some injuries, and you’d have to handle the adversity and move on and find other ways to move forward. But I hate it most of all for him because of all the work and time that he spent here and put in so far. So look forward to him having a great rehab and hopefully, getting him back as soon as he’s ready.”

On how Eli Raridon is doing:

“Good. You know, I mean, the rookies are there. They’re still in the pool. They’re swimming a little bit. Which is to be expected at this point, but making progress every day, learning something new every day. I’ve said this before to you guys, you either do something right or you learn from the mistake. So every rep should be a beneficial one for us at this time of the year. So Eli has a good, good attitude and approach, and he’s coming out trying to get better every day.”

On how he’d assess Caleb Lomu, his sort of maturity on both the left and the right side so far:

“Yeah. I mean, that’s a different challenge, and you come in, and you’re used to playing in one spot. And, when you play offensive line in the National Football League as a young player, a lot of times that is your responsibility, is to learn a whole bunch of different roles. Language is different on one side than the other. Certainly technique and fundamentals are a little different because you’re working on different sides of the football. Great attitude. Awesome kid. Love his personality. Practices his butt off every day. A sponge. Again, we’ve done a tremendous job of bringing in a bunch of guys that just want to learn, try to get better, and work hard. And so Caleb’s at the head of the class in terms of the rookies for us.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)

About Ian Logue

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.

View all posts by Ian Logue

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JimK

27 minutes ago

I think it got lost last year regards how smooth a transition it was to move the whole offense under a new McDaniels system. I had it as a gradual build and improvement that would take all year. Rough to start. I’m sure they had to simplify some things, but hey they put up 28.1 pts/game. That doesn’t happen a lot in the NFL when a new system goes in with a lot of new players. Especially with a complex system. It will be interesting to see what they layer in this season. My guess is that install still has… Read more »