FOXBORO – Patriots coaches have long known about Drake Maye’s athleticism and arm strength, and his ability to think the game through, they learned about before the draft.
Now they’re getting a feel for how quickly he can move behind the line of attack in their new offense.
Maye isn’t always flawless when reading the defense, but he showed in last week’s preseason game against the Eagles that he can read the defense and hit with determination, and he did it again on Sunday during a long (over two hours) practice in full gear.
The No. 3 overall pick leads our Stock Up column for Day 16 of Patriots camp…
Stock up
Drake Maye, quarterback
Although the newcomer did not play in the first team on Sunday, he was the more determined and accurate player compared to Jacoby Brissett.
In a 7-on-7 red zone game, Maye made timely strikes to Tyquan Thornton and Javon Baker. He also found KJ Osborn on a roll-out throw when he quickly realized his first few reads had been taken away. Roll-outs in 7-on-7 are often completely botched plays. But Maye came through with determination on his reads, turning the game into a scramble drill and throwing accurately while moving.
He later scored touchdowns with Ja’Lynn Polk and Jaheim Bell in a quick-decided 11-on-11 period. He threw another beautiful ball to Osborn near the sideline, allowing the veteran to catch the ball with a leap and a spin over his shoulder for a first down.
Maye threw a near-pick to Joe Giles-Harris rolling out in an 11-on-11 replay, but he had another non-completion that was one of the best throws of his day, finding Baker deep down the right sideline for a pike attempt that Baker couldn’t catch up to, in part due to tight coverage from Alex Austin. It was an accurate throw, though, that looked in some ways like his incomplete pass to Baker against the Eagles last week.
Phil Perry was back at Gillette Stadium for the Patriots’ second preseason game and joins the Next Pats Podcast to analyze Drake Maye’s performance against the Eagles, how he compared to Jacoby Brissett, and more.
Jaheim Bell, Tight End
The rookie tight end made the most of his opportunities as a pass catcher on Sunday, catching three touchdowns from three different quarterbacks. Bell was used a lot because Austin Hooper and Hunter Henry were out. Third tight end Mitchell Wilcox was injured in the middle of practice, resulting in an even weaker tight end group.
Bell caught out route points from Maye and Jacoby Brissett and scored another point by working across the formation on an option play with Joe Milton at the helm. Bell isn’t an in-line enforcer in the run game, but as an offensive weapon he’s shown in practice that he can be difficult to cover.
Sam Roberts, defensive tackle
It’s always good to highlight the work of an unknown player when we have the opportunity to do so here, and Roberts deserves it.
He helped force an incomplete pass by pushing Caedan Wallace back into Mayes’ pocket. He later threw Wallace back again to stop a JaMycal Hasty run, and he picked up a “sack” when he beat center Charles Turner. His power was also evident when he beat Atonio Mafi in a one-on-one matchup.
Inventory is decreasing
Tight End Depth
Henry could be out for a while longer, and Hooper is now battling an injury he sustained on Saturday. That has weakened the Patriots quite a bit. But then the team had to reckon with the injured Mitchell Wilcox on Sunday. Jaheim Bell and Jacob Warren had a lot to do after that.
Warren had some trouble with a low pass from Brissett at the goal line earlier in practice, and it seemed like the undrafted rookie wasn’t expecting the ball to be thrown there (although quarterbacks typically make low throws in that zone to avoid deflections and blocking the ball).
Javon Baker, wide receiver
Baker made an easy touchdown catch on a nice throw from Maye on a 7-on-7 in the red zone, but he let a 50-50 jump ball slip through his hands on the same play. He also looked like he might have caught a deep throw from Maye on an 11-on-11, but he couldn’t hold onto it while diving.
He’s athletic enough to be a candidate for those types of throws, but he hasn’t always caught them. Drops were a problem for him at UCF, and they’ve happened at times this summer.
Marcella’s Dial, Cornerback
It wasn’t a bad workout for Dial, but at the end of the session he happened to be the loser of a spectacular catch.
On a long pass from Joe Milton, Kawaan Baker reached around Dial’s back and pressed the football against Dial’s helmet. He controlled the ball through the ground and finished it in a way that sent the offensive players on the sideline wild.
Dial was in coverage last week in the preseason game against the Eagles on eight catches for a total of 106 yards.
