The Drake Maye Report: On pads, pressure heats up rookie QB originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO – On Monday, pads were put on at Patriots practice. That meant a heightened focus on the run game. But it also meant a more physical passage. That meant more skilled defenses, both at the line of scrimmage and at the receiving spot.
It turned out to be a rough day for the third overall pick in this year’s draft. Let’s get into the details in our Day 5 edition of the Drake Maye Report.
The representative’s report
Maye received six reps in the single 7-on-7 practice period to go along with 13 reps in 11-on-11 periods. Those 19 total snaps were in line with the 18 competitive reps he saw in the previous practice.
As has been the case in recent practices, Maye and quarterback Jacoby Brissett have had about the same amount of work. Although Brissett was the team’s starting quarterback every quarter, he also got six 7-on-7 snaps and 14 plays of 11-on-11 work.
Brissett ended up with yet another replay, in all likelihood, because there was a botched snap count with Brissett that may have led to a reshuffling of the coaching staff.
Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton continued to split the remaining quarterback reps, but the way Maye has been treated has been consistent throughout camp. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is trying to develop Maye with real action on the field, not just him watching from the sidelines.
Analyzing the numbers
Maye finished the 7-on-7 period completing just two of his six attempts, including an interception. He was 1 of 4 in 11-on-11 periods and was “sacked” during a replay. Overall, he was 3-for-10 in competitive periods.
Brissett, meanwhile, was 4-for-6 in 7-on-7 work. He was nearly perfect at 11-on-11, going 8-for-9, with his only incompletion coming thanks to a drop by rookie Ja’Lynn Polk. In all, he went 12 of 15 in what was decidedly the best quarterback performance of the day.
Play of the day
For Maye, there were no standout plays. Of his three completions, the longest connection was probably a completed curl route to fellow rookie Javon Baker on 11-on-11 work. He also hit tight ends Jacob Warren and Kayshon Boutte for modest gains on 7-on-7 work.
Why is he ready
In this section of the Drake Maye Report, we’ll highlight the parts of the rookie’s performance that suggest he’s primed to step up to the top of the quarterback pecking order in New England sooner rather than later.
It may be necessary to stretch a little here, as there were no obviously positive moments to point out in this intense training session. So this might be the rare case (I think) where we reference the same play in both the “Why He’s Ready” and “Why Patience Is a Virtue” sections.
In an 11-on-11 period midway through practice, Maye faced what ended up feeling like all-out pressure. He was immediately removed from his spot by internal pressure and threw a pass out of bounds.
One thing that has stood out about Maye through five practices is his athleticism to get out of trouble – something he will need whenever he is named the starter, especially if there are still questions along the offensive line. There are situations where an incompletion does not kill a unit, but a bag does.
On this particular play, Maye showed the ability to turn a potentially negative play into a no-win one.
Why patience is a virtue
In this section of the Drake Maye Report, we’ll highlight the parts of the rookie’s performance that suggest he’s not quite ready to step up to the top of the quarterback depth chart.
While Maye was able to talk himself out of immediate trouble on that particular snap, he might have been able to get himself out of a tight spot even more by having an answer. before being released from the pocket.
Not surprisingly, Maye isn’t yet at the stage of having the pre-snap “test answers,” as Tom Brady used to say. But as he develops and gets used to the types of exotic pressures he will face on NFL defenses, he will likely have different tools in his quarterback tool belt to be able to handle challenging blitzes.
Maye had brief episodes of inaccuracy on Monday, falling while throwing an incomplete and causing tight end Mitchell Wilcox to scramble for a pass that probably should have been completed. But there were several plays on Day 5 — the sack when under pressure, and a sack on a roll-out — where perhaps Maye could have an answer before having to try to use his athleticism to avoid a negative result.
It is worth mentioning: Maye worked with reserve central Atonio Mafi – inexperienced in the central position – on Monday. David Andrews was out, meaning veteran backup Nick Leverett worked with Jacoby Brissett. In this scheme, centers are typically trusted to set pre-snap protections, meaning Maye had less experienced help than usual.
This is not an excuse for Maye’s performance, but it is context that must be highlighted as we evaluate what we saw.
