TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye Press Conference 7/31

Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say during his press conference with the media on Friday, July 31, 2026.

On how much more vocal he is this year and how much more he’s taken control of the offense, and if that’s something that comes natural or easy to him, or if it’s something he has to kind of force out of himself:

“I’m just trying to be myself. I think the big thing, I think it’s naturally when you’re in the second year of an offense, and you feel like you know what you’re talking about and you put a year on tape where you feel like you did some good things and knew what you were doing most of the time. So I think that kind of speaks for itself. And knowing the offense and trying to get to the level of Coach McDaniels and some of the coaches is what that we’re all trying to do and kind of understand how they see it and how they want us to execute it. And from there, I feel like we can direct guys and I can push guys to try to get to that level, and that’s the goal.”

On the conversations with A.J. [Brown] in getting comfortable with each other on the field, but it looks like they’re also doing a lot of talking after plays, after series…

“I think just trying to get a feel for what he’s seeing, what I’m seeing, what he’s kind of feeling out there when he’s running routes, and in coverage, we got some great competition. Him and Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez] are going back and forth and going at it. So it’s great for us to talk and pull up some old things that he’s run and how he liked to run them and what he liked to do in the routes and kind of versus different looks. So it’s just trying to feel the connectivity building. Now I think that’s the biggest thing with a player like him and a lot of players that we have. It’s my job to try to get them the ball when they want and when they feel like they’re open and that’s what he’s just trying to build a relationship with me and him. And I think you’re just seeing it get better every day. And I think that’s the best thing about training camp is what you use it for and I’m blessed to play with a player like him and looking forward to giving him the rock and see him do his thing.”

On Gonzales, it seems like today he was targeting his side pretty heavily, and if that’s something he likes to do to both give his receivers a challenge, but also give him a challenge, keep him on his toes in moments like this in training camp:

“Yeah. I mean, I see Gonzo probably almost more than anybody in the locker room since my rookie year. We’re kind of right beside each other, my rookie and last year, and now we’re right across from each other. So I love going at good players, and I think he wants that. He practices hard, and he always is making— we’re always making jokes back and forth at each other. And I remember back in OTAs last year, I think he picked me off 2 or 3 times. So since then, back in my scout team days, my rookie year, I threw him a bunch of them. So that’s fun to go against a guy like him, and especially when you got guys that I feel like can give him some good work. And I always feel like a player like Gonzo in practice you feel like, ‘He’s backside all, don’t look over there.’ I’m the type that wants to go over there and challenge him. So he knows that, and obviously he’s a great player in this league, and I love having him on my team and being able to practice against him.”

On the fact we’ve heard a lot this year from him and Vrabel about getting into the right play and the importance, and what changes are allowing him to do that this season that weren’t happening last year:

“First of all, I think better identifying the problems of the plays and kind of what kind of makes them a bad look. And I think identifying that, and I feel like I always had a good feel for, ‘Man, this play doesn’t feel like it’s going to go right.’ So then now just have finding answers and having answers is the biggest thing. Communicating to our guys, and even when we’re not at home, when it’s easy to talk and the crowd’s kind of quiet. So being on the road and being able to do it is tough, especially in this league when stadiums and crowds are knowing when to get loud and when they feel like I’m talking, they’re going to get louder. Not only knowing kind of ‘We have a problem,’ but knowing how to communicate the answer to everybody and be on the same page.”

On his connection growing with A.J., and what has been the most important thing there in forging that connection and improving it as this camp’s gone on:

“Just giving more chances to him. I think you see with the ball in his hands what he can do. So just finding more chances intermediate, short, deep, just not shying away from— I’m not going to shy away from it. That’s how I play. I’m going to keep going at it, and it could be the 5th play in a row I’m going to give him the rock. So I think just finding a way to balance that with a player like him. And also you got Romeo [Doubs] and Pop [Douglas] and Hunter [Henry], and you got guys from Rhamondre [Stevenson], TreVeyon [Henderson], you got guys that can stress the defense. So knowing the right play to make, first off, but also finding some time in training camp to give him some chances that maybe in a game I may be like, ‘Hey, I may pass on that.’

If there are certain things that he looks for to know like, ‘Hey, the chemistry and the timetable that I want this to happen is happening, or the things that you see on the field and like, we’re getting closer to where I want us to be and where we can be?’

“I don’t look that much into it. I mean, you feel like you know when you feel like things are clicking. I felt like we had some good plays today. So he’s a force in this league, he’s been a force in this league, and I know we got a lot of players that make plays. That’s the best thing about offense like Coach McDaniels. You know, it can be anybody any given day, and that’s what the story was last year. I think that’s what we’re trying to repeat and just have a little bit more juice and a little bit more swagger to us.”

On the fact he hasn’t thrown many incomplete passes over the last two practices, and how much does he feel like he’s in a rhythm:

“Yeah, I think you find that during training camp. You try to find a rhythm and try to find like … I feel like being accurate is kind of one of the number one things of playing quarterback and putting the ball in the right spot and giving our guys chances. And that’s what I’m doing, and our guys are making plays. And I think the biggest thing for us is to stay in positive plays, and includes run game passing game. And for me, it’s getting started early. It’s like when I used to play basketball and just come out and try to shoot a 3 get a layup, get to the free throw line, and then at the same time, I love taking a shot early. So trying to balance that.”

On the fact there’s a lot of talent in his wide receiver room and tight end room and backfield right now, and if he has to kind of massage people and say, ‘Look, I’m coming to you in a minute, don’t worry about it?’ Does that all enter into it?

“Well, I mean, I think the nature of seeing other guys make plays makes people feel like, ‘Man, I want to be in the right spot and do the right thing and go make a play.’ So I think kind of the competitive spirit in that room in the skill group position and the position room and that offensive room does it for itself. I think part of the times you get in trouble when you’re trying to sit back there and be like, ‘oh, I haven’t thrown one to him in a while. You know, I’ll do that in the walkthrough when nobody’s on defense and give everybody a touch.’ But when we’re out here and you’re playing in the National Football League, it’s hard to pick and choose and try to get to a guy on a certain play.

On the fact he and Brown have discussed the importance of communication, and what that looks like, and if he’s carving out extra time after practice to sit down and talk, or is it more of just like the natural back and forth in practice:

“Yeah, I think it’s, It’s all the above. I think just being in a constant conversation, that’s the best thing about it. Him seeing something and texting me it, or kind of the whole skill room. I love doing big meetings with everybody. And Coach McDaniels does a great job of kind of explaining the little things and why we do them. And those guys are starting to understand more and more why we do the little things and how they work. So that’s the best thing about these guys. And I think they’re continuing to get better and better each and every day. And they’re kind of— we’ve got a crowded room. And I think they realize that the only thing to make the room even better is to keep making plays. And I think I wouldn’t say crowded, it’s just a competitive room. It’s the biggest thing.”

On the fact he and Pop connected a few times today. Todd Downing’s mentioned how he’s grown on some of the decision route, and how he would say his rapport with Pop has grown over the time they’ve been together:

“Yeah, I mean, I think Pop is one of the first guys here when I was a rookie, I was like, ‘Man, that guy moves different.’ And you can tell when he’s guarding Marcus. I remember when Marcus Jones was guarding him. Those two, those guys that are probably two of the quickest and fastest guys in the league that go head to head every day, and you just see them making each other better. And Pop does a lot of things right. He’s got great hands for his size and just put it out in front of him. He’s a target that when you give him a catch-and-run ball, he can go make something happen. And some of the moves and kind of intricacies of kind of his route detail, it’s really cool to see a guy his size of how he can stop so fast. And I always laugh in the quarterback room, seeing him on film, how he stops so fast on a dime. And it’s get that when you give him the ball, the football more, because he can make some plays.”

On the fact Eli Raridon’s making more and more plays out there, and what he’s liked about targeting him so far:

“Yeah, he’s a big dude, first off, that can run. I mean, that’s pretty cool, and he’s smart. I mean, he went to Notre Dame, and I know he’s another guy that half ACC, half not, but we like to call ourselves smart in the ACC. So he understands positions, he understands how to play both positions – the tight end spot. And I think he’s making plays on the football. That’s what you want to see from a young guy, and he’s putting the work in. That’s the biggest thing with the young rookie. You want to see him go out there and take a rep when he’s tired and not kind of call for a sub. And he’s doing all the things the right way. And I’m looking forward to seeing what he does throughout camp. And he’s been a great player for us and a great dude.”

On when he sees defenders at the line of scrimmage and he knows they might be bringing pressure at this stage of camp, how he reacts to that, or if it’s early for that, and if he likes seeing those types of looks to sort of get those reps this early:

“It keeps us on our toes at all times. They do a great job of mixing up blitzes, bringing different guys. And I think that’s one of the best things about our defense being in their second year as well. They’re not just sitting there in Cover 4 or Tampa and just saying, ‘Hey, play ball.’ They’re bringing different blitzes and different blitz zones behind it. So it’s great work for us to see the coverage see where blitzes are at and for us guys up front to block it.”

On the fact it’s only one week you camp, but what, if anything, is new he feels like he’s learned about his offense:

“Learned about our offense…. I think just the unlocked potential that we can even take more steps forward. I think we kind of just, we’re figuring things out how Coach likes the game plan, figuring out how he liked to do things last year. I think we got some work to kind of expand the offense and do some different things and put even more pressure on the defense than we did last year. And the biggest thing is just knowing that when you start off good in the game and we had some games where we felt like we kind of slowed down the second half, just keep the foot on the pedal and keep going.”

(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.

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