Henry McKenna
NFL Reporter
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Drake Maye saw rookie receiver Kyle Williams separate in the end zone. It was a risky throw, made more dangerous with top cornerback Christian Gonzalez in coverage. The New England Patriots quarterback rifled the ball into a tight window. Williams, the team’s third-round pick, snatched the ball out of the air over Gonzalez for a touchdown.
It was the first practice of training camp in one of the first sessions of 11-on-11 drills. And for an organization desperate to turn things around offensively after a few years of disappointment, this play felt like the perfect example of why there’s reason for optimism. But the most important part of that play was what happened afterward.
Maye approached Williams, first to celebrate, then to share a piece of constructive criticism.
“I told him to maybe sell it a little more, just try to give [the corner] a go-route feel,” Maye said. “But I think he’s coming along. He’s looking good.”
The training wheels are off.
At 22 years old, Drake Maye isn’t just taking coaching. He’s giving it.
The Patriots’ new regime, under coach Mike Vrabel, is pushing Maye to take the reins of the offense in a way that he didn’t last year as a rookie QB.
“[Vrabel] has done a good job of giving me points where I can improve, but he’s also kind of letting me go to see where I’m at,” Maye said. “I think it’s a challenge for me to lead this football team.”
Vrabel and his staff trust the second-year QB. And in turn, he seems to trust himself more. He has more confidence and looks more comfortable.
“The more comfortable he is, the more swag he has,” tight end Austin Hooper said.
It shows in his relationship with his new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Last year, Maye never left the hip of then-OC Alex Van Pelt. This year, Maye has the freedom to roam during practice. He’s clearly logging mental reps when it’s appropriate for him. But when he’s not competing, he’s communicating with his offensive teammates to get on the same page.
“That was a big upgrade from last year. This year, he’s not afraid to say something and I feel like that’s pushing us in the right direction,” said third-year receiver DeMario Douglas. “It’s probably him just becoming a bigger leader. You get more comfortable and it helps him speak out vocally.”
Josh McDaniels, now in his third stint with the Patriots, is giving Drake Maye more freedom than he had as a rookie. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Maye and his pass-catchers have been working together after practices and in their free time on the routes they’ll use during the regular season. This is what the best QBs in the NFL do. Ask Patrick Mahomes how he wants his wideouts to run a post — and he’ll tell you, down to the inch and the millisecond, where he wants his guys to be.
Maye has begun the process of communicating those preferences to his receivers. Douglas said Maye is “most definitely” talking more to get on the same page as his pass-catchers.
“When we do our routes, we’ll do it one by one. So when I run my route he’ll say, ‘I want you to do this and add some spice to it.’ [And I’ll say,] ‘OK, say less.’ And then that’ll get us on the same page,” Douglas said. “When I run a certain route, he’ll be like, ‘OK, That’s what I like.’ And then I know to keep it like that.”
The enhanced communication started long before training camp. In the offseason, Maye organized throwing sessions with his pass-catchers. For the North Carolina-based workouts, Maye invited receivers Stefon Diggs, Kendrick Bourne, Douglas, Williams and Ja’Lynn Polk, tight end Hunter Henry, running back Rhamondre Stevenson and backup quarterback Josh Dobbs. They all got on the field to run routes at multiple throwing sessions. Then in the evenings, they all hung out, playing basketball and spikeball.
It was an opportunity for the receivers and quarterbacks to get to know each other better on and off the field. And it was the type of thing that Maye might not have felt comfortable doing in 2024, because the No. 3 overall pick wasn’t the starter entering last season.
“It’s a lot different,” Maye said when asked about going into his second year. “That’s what I was telling the rookies earlier: It’s going to be a kind of whirlwind. You’re kind of scrambling from period to period and next thing you know, you’re up against the defense and some full-speed plays. So, I think just take your time, enjoy it, take the time to watch the film and I think more than that, just have fun. I mean, you know the plays, just don’t overthink it and play instinctive.”
Yup, the 22-year-old QB is giving out advice like he’s a five-year veteran. And he’s demonstrating authority over the Patriots’ new system in more ways than one.
“There’s protections — when he sees something that he can help,” Vrabel said when asked for examples of that authority. “He sees it a lot better than some other players, or linemen. If you see something, say something. Don’t assume that everybody’s seeing it the way that you’re seeing.
“I see him getting guys in the right formations, or telling guys, ‘Hey, you’re off the ball. You’re on the ball. Hey, you’re over here.’ Doing that quickly. Before, sometimes young quarterbacks — they’re just focused on the play. They’re focused on the cadence and not focused on sideline to sideline. And I think that’s starting to improve.”
That isn’t to say there aren’t moments when Maye doesn’t need hand-holding. The Patriots-made docuseries, “Forged in Foxborough,” showed multiple moments when coach Mike Vrabel challenged Maye to assert himself with vocal leadership.
There was a situation where an offensive series came to an end and Vrabel gave his young QB some guidance.
“Talk to your guys,” Vrabel told Maye on the field, as captured in the show.
Vrabel provided more context during a press conference about why he made that coaching point.
“You have to talk to the coordinator. You’ve got to talk to Josh [McDaniels]. But then the quarterback’s going to have to go up and down and make sure, ‘Hey, we just had this happen on this last play. If we get it again, I saw this defense for the first time.’”
In translation, Vrabel doesn’t just want Maye to take coaching. He wants the quarterback to serve as a mouthpiece for the coaches. When Maye and McDaniels identify what went wrong on a play, Maye needs to relay to the rest of the offense how they’re going to do better the next time.
And there was another moment like that in “Forged in Foxborough” from training camp. Maye threw a touchdown and Vrabel challenged his QB again — this time with a little more bite.
“If we’ve got a [scoring] play, just go get there [to celebrate in the end zone],” Vrabel said to Maye. “You know what I mean? It’s f—ing hard. How many touchdowns did you guys score last year? The answer is not enough.”
So Maye went to his guys a few moments later and passed along the word: “We’ve gotta celebrate when we score.” And they did the next time they got into the end zone.
Does it sometimes come off as mechanical? Sure. But Maye is learning how to establish Vrabel’s culture. The process starts with the head coach and extends through the staff into the quarterback and captains and into the entire depth chart.
Establishing culture starts with answering simple questions, like, Are the 2025 Patriots a team that celebrates when they score? Yes. Maye knows that now. So he’d better make sure they do it. That starts in training camp. And the more they celebrate touchdowns in camp, the more likely they are to be celebrating touchdowns in the regular season and maybe even in the postseason.
There are other moments when Maye is still searching for answers. He seemed to identify one area for improvement when McDaniels showed him some Tom Brady film recently. The Patriots Hall of Famer has said, many times, that he had all the answers to the test when it came to reading defenses. Maye doesn’t — yet.
“The one thing with Tom was that he always knew where to go with the football,” Maye told the “Up and Adams Show” last week. “Beating blitzers. Knowing where to go before the snap. And his feet — his feet were always ready to go.”
Maye still has plenty to figure out. Though he went six practices without a turnover, he threw a pair of interceptions in the team’s scrimmage on Friday night. He’s still figuring out how to properly set his protections with the rotating cast at center (as the team has yet to settle on a starter with Garrett Bradbury dealing with an injury). He’s still working on his footwork, an ongoing project that goes back to his days at UNC.
And he’s still figuring out risk management when he runs the football, because the Patriots seem interested in giving Maye the freedom to run and — most importantly — create more time to pass as a runner. Certainly, that comes with obvious dangers. He suffered a concussion last season while trying to scramble for a first down.
But the Patriots are intent upon letting Maye try, likely because they want to see what he can do before they start telling him what he can’t do.
Last year, the Patriots clung to their quarterback like a helicopter parent, which was appropriate given the situation: the league’s worst offensive line, a shoddy crop of receivers and a much-maligned coaching staff. This year, New England is letting their young pup try, fail, get back up and get back out there. And that also seems appropriate given this new situation, with a major influx of talent through the draft and free agency that should combine nicely with a deeply experienced and successful group of coaches.
“I’m still not gun-shy,” Maye said when he’d gone the first six practices without an interception. “That’s what you’re out here for. You try to feel, ‘Hey, can this work or can this work against these guys at this level?’”
He’s talking about testing himself. He has the confidence to do that, because he knows that if he fails, the team won’t hand the job to someone else. Maye is firmly entrenched as the starter. He has power and influence.
And he’s just starting to understand what to do with it — particularly when Vrabel gives him a kick in the you-know-where.
Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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