Throughout what has been a remarkable offseason for the Patriots, the one constant has been second-year quarterback Drake Maye. As an organization, the willingness to hire Mike Vrabel–and his willingness to take the job–was all rooted in some faith the Maye is the real deal, a bona fide future star quarterback. The $360 million in spending this offseason, too, was because of Maye.
The drafting of left tackle Will Campbell was because of Maye. Even the bolstering of the team’s defense was a form of protecting Maye.
Thus, the biggest worry among Patriots backers is that maybe Maye just will not be all he is cracked up to be, that maybe there is too much faith being placed in him. Maye played in 13 games and started 12 last year, throwing for 175.1 yards per game and an 88.1 quarterback rating.
While he looked impressive despite playing for a bad team, and looked the part of a quality NFL quarterback, the end result of Maye’s 12 starts was a 3-9 record, and 15 touchdowns to go with 10 interceptions. It takes a good helping of faith to be certain he’s the QB of the future.
“I think he does a good job of taking the meeting room to the field,” Grant said. “So every day we come out here with different types of emphasis and what we want to work on, and every day he’s really tried to attack those things, and really being intentional about his progression in the offense. I think he does that super well.”
Drake Maye Taking ‘Meeting Room to the Field’
The guy whose job it is to work closely with Maye on the finer points of the position is new quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant.
And though Maye has had some struggles in the early goings of the team’s OTAs, and though he is moving into the Josh McDaniels offense, which will mark the third system he has played in over the past three years, Grant sees Maye soaking up what he learns in Patriots meetings and bringing it to the field.
“I think he does a good job of taking the meeting room to the field,” Grant said, via MassLive. “So every day we come out here with different types of emphasis and what we want to work on, and every day he’s really tried to attack those things, and really being intentional about his progression in the offense. I think he does that super well. …”
“There’s going to be a lot of repetition going from one system, to a completely new one. So as many as many reps as we can, and we’re trying to steal as many as we can when we’re inside. I think he’s done a great job taking steps forward.”
Patriots QB Coach: Great Time to Be a QB
Grant, for one, is not all that worried about the four interceptions Maye threw at a Patriots practice in the first open look at the team. Mid-spring is a good time to make mistakes.
“I think this time of year is great for the quarterback. Either he does something well that we try to replicate the next time, or he does something that maybe we want to tweak or learn or adjust from,” Grant said.
“This time of year as a quarterbacks coach has always been my favorite just because it’s so directed towards passing. There’s never a threat of the run for the defense, or play-action pass. So it’s just a time for us to be able to focus on our fundamentals and technique, and be a little bit at a disadvantage, and try to see if we can take our coaching to the field.”
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