The Drake Maye Report: Keeper plays seem to suit the rookie QB originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO – Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt took some time before practice Sunday to talk – exclusively for season ticket holders and the media – about the progress he’s seen in Drake Maye.
“He’s been impressive and has done everything we’ve asked of him,” Van Pelt said. “He’s really studying hard and trying hard. We’ve improved his footwork.”
Van Pelt further described Maye’s ability to “process quickly,” adding that Maye “reads the field really well.”
But as head coach Jerod Mayo has described several times over the summer, it’s clear to all involved that progress isn’t linear. And on Sunday, Maye seemed to have occasional issues with his feet — with the way he reads his assignments — that don’t seem to be an issue in other workouts.
Let’s get into the details in our latest Drake Maye report from Day 12 of Patriots practice…
The Rep report
Once again, Jacoby Brissett was the best passer in Patriots practice, starting first in every drill and playing with the first offensive line. But once again, Maye was in a significant number of competitive games.
Each player completed 10 competitive 7-on-7 reps. In the 11-on-11 practice, Brissett and Maye each played 23 snaps.
Utilizing the numbers
Maye shot 7 of 10 in 7v7 situations. He remains solid in these situations when he is not under pressure.
He was relatively clean in that particular stretch, although one of his completions on a deep over route to DeMario Douglas was a little rough in terms of his footwork; he nearly stumbled when he got rid of the ball a little later than he seemed to have planned. He also missed fellow rookie Jaheim Bell on a shorter throw where it looked like Bell thought he had to break away when Maye expected him to be in a weak spot in coverage.
In Maye’s 11-on-11 appearances with the second team, he hit 6 of 12, and his performance could be described as inconsistent.
His first throw to Mitchell Wilcox was good but fell. He then got sacked (by Brenden Schooler), hit Ja’Lynn Polk on a play-action “keeper” rolling left, and had mixed results on consecutive screen calls. One was blown away at the line of scrimmage by Raekwon McMillan. One had to be whistled to the ground by Maye when the defense scented him.
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Another block – apparently a focus for Maye’s unit that day – was nullified by the Patriots defense on the first pass of Maye’s next series. He also nearly had a pass from rookie Dell Pettus thrown after he rolled left and attempted a throw on the run that was broken up by Joe Giles-Harris. Then, after a delay of game penalty, Maye completed three short throws.
His third series with the two went like this: intercepted pass at the line by Anfernee Jennings that was intercepted by Armon Watts; touchdown throw to La’Michael Pettway over the helmet of Pettus; false start; obvious check on a running play that Jalen Reagor appeared to be out of the loop on; incomplete pass to Polk along the sideline on an accurate throw that was botched by Polk as he left the field.
Maye later hit 5 of 6 against a group of reserves on the offensive line that were ranked lower in the order.
Match of the day
It’s hard to call a 1-on-1 replay the best solution here, but Maye threw one of the best long balls of this early session and put it in Antonio Gibson’s basket.
The pass was botched, thrown in the air and intercepted by Ja’Whaun Bentley. But in a summer where Maye hasn’t thrown the ball far down the field that often, it was an impressive throw.
Why he is ready
In this section of the Drake Maye Report, we will highlight the aspects of the rookie’s performance that suggest he will rise to the top of New England’s quarterback hierarchy sooner rather than later.
In terms of teamwork, Maye’s best throw of the day was his rolling left-foot throw to Polk after running a play-action fake from under center. That one snap showed a lot of what Maye has been practicing this camp: footwork from under center, accurate and timely throws while moving.
As a right-handed quarterback, Maye moves well to his left and can generally throw with speed and accuracy. The ability to make those “keeper” plays while moving in both directions, especially when reaching parts of the field that are difficult for other quarterbacks to access, can help make Van Pelt’s offense more diverse and less predictable…
Why patience is a virtue
In this section of the Drake Maye Report, we will highlight the aspects of the rookie’s performance that suggest he is not quite ready to be at the top of the quarterback rankings.
… However, Mayes’ perhaps most dangerous shot of the day was also a roll to the left. This roll, however, was not planned.
He was pressured from the right, drifted left and tried to hit his target in the middle of the field. Giles-Harris – who stood out for his football feel in the season opener last week – threw the football in the air and Pettus almost caught it. Maye was perhaps a little late with the football, allowing Giles-Harris to read his eyes and get into the passing lane.
Although these were different plays, there appeared to be several mistakes in practice where Maye was a little slow to react. His offense received a delay of game penalty (refs were present at practice for the first time this summer) and on a pass blocked at the line, it seemed like he might have been a little too late to get going.
Maye hasn’t been able to do this on every throw. But as we know progress isn’t linear, Sunday seemed to be a day where he hesitated a bit before throwing. That’s to be expected as he adjusts to a new schedule that relies on getting the readings done on time.
We’ll see what progress he makes in that regard on Monday and then during a joint practice with Philadelphia on Tuesday before Thursday’s preseason game against the Eagles.
