New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye played in four games in his team’s second preseason game. Maye made some impressive plays with his arms and legs against the Philadelphia Eagles, but one in particular caught the eye of his position coach TC McCartney.
Facing a 3rd-and-5, Maye opened up to the right before working back to the left to find fellow rookie Javon Baker for the completion. 12 yards and a first down.
It was a play the quarterback admitted he missed in practice earlier in the week, which caught the attention of his quarterback coach.
“Very calm. Under control. When he comes out, he can tell me exactly what he sees, which is very important. So that was really good,” McCartney said of Maye’s performance. “His third down conversion to Baker, we talked about it in the quarterback room, and he executed it perfectly. That was fun to see. That was my favorite play of his.”
While McCartney was thrilled with the finish, the quarterback coach was also impressed with the rookie’s progress this summer – particularly how he keeps his eyes on his feet to play in rhythm.
Many experts placed great importance on Maye’s foot play during the draft process, but the New England team did not express these concerns.
“Every offense is different, and what they (in North Carolina) asked of him was very different than what we asked of him – which I think is to our advantage,” McCartney explained. “He wasn’t coached wrong, so it was easy for him to come in and understand what we were asking of him. So I think it worked out pretty well.”
Footwork has become more valuable as Maye finds himself in the middle of the field more often in Alex Van Pelt’s offense. After playing primarily at tackle in college, it’s an adjustment for the 21-year-old, who saw a snap hit the turf after a botched turnover against Philadelphia.
But Maye only completed one of his 11 dropbacks from the center because Van Pelt wants all of his quarterbacks to feel comfortable and confident on the field.
“Our system is we go under center. Obviously the running game is a big part of what we do and that starts under center. I think he’s adapted well. It was foreign to him when he came here, but right now it looks seamless. We had an exchange issue from a snap under center that we had to clean up, but so far it’s been smooth sailing,” Van Pelt said.
“There are certain things we would do with Drake that we might not do with Jacoby, so there’s a little bit of that there. But our system is our system and he fits in just as well as Jacoby.”
Despite the progress Maye has made this summer, the rookie hasn’t worked with the top offense enough to really push for a starting spot. The reason for that is pretty simple.
“Jacoby. He’s our starting quarterback,” Van Pelt said Thursday. “So the good news is we get to play everybody this week. We’re still in the evaluation process. We have one more preseason game and our guys are going to play. So we have another chance to evaluate this.”
As the coordinator later added, the experienced veteran – who started 11 times in Van Pelt’s offense with the Cleveland Browns in 2022 – is unsurprisingly ahead of the rookie when it comes to the mental side of the offense.
This has resulted in Brissett seeming almost certain to be the starter in Week 1, while Mayes’ long-term prospects have shown upward momentum.
“Jacoby has played in that offense and knows some of the tools you need to get out of certain situations, pressure situations and things like that – Drake is still learning. But (Drake) has been really impressive the last couple weeks of practice and in the game. And he’s definitely moving in the right direction,” Van Pelt said.
“But again, a rookie quarterback comes in and plays – Jacoby obviously has a lot of experience, not just in the NFL but in this system, and we won games with him in Cleveland. So I’m really happy with his understanding. But again, Drake is pushing.”
