H
e may not be making friends, but Drake Maye is starting to influence New England Patriots coaches with his impressive displays in practice. The third player taken in the 2024 NFL draft even has one member of the coaching staff claiming to hate him.
Maye earned the mock animosity after the rookie quarterback uncorked a special throw during practice. It drew the attention of cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino, who told Maye, “‘I hate you. That was a great throw.’ He’s doing a good job so far. He stuck one in between tight coverage on a new call that we had a couple of weeks ago. It was like, ‘I really wish he didn’t make that throw, but you did,’” per MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels.
Envy is something Maye will have to get used to based on his increasing number of eye-catching plays. Granted, those plays are occurring in simulated, non-game action, but the Patriots are getting more and more glimpses of the potential franchise passer they drafted back in April.
Coaches and Players Noticing Drake Maye’s Progress
Maye is being made to wait before taking the reins, but the Patriots shouldn’t delay the inevitable for too long. Not when the first-year signal-caller has the kind of arm talent responsible for this throw highlighted by Mike Kadlick of CLNS Media.
This is the kind of throw the Patriots have lacked since Tom Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2020. Maye is supposed to represent the end of a cycle of dismal replacements.
While the Pats are content to bide their time before seeing if Maye can meet the challenge, the 22-year-old is accelerating the process. Just ask defensive coaches like Pellegrino and coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
The latter believes “Drake has improved every day. He’s improved from the first day he’s gotten in here. I think he’s earning the trust and respect from his teammates, which is good,” according to Daniels.
Among the teammates wowed by Maye’s development is fellow rookie quarterback Joe Milton III. He praised Maye for manipulating coverage against a Patriots defense mimicking the schemes of Week 4’s opponents the San Francisco 49ers.
Milton noted how “The safety was just in the middle of the field, and (Maye) dropped back, looked to the right, and the safety just flew over there. Barely looking, he came back and threw the backside dig route. (It was) 18 yards … it’s hard to manipulate sometimes at quarterback,” per Cutcall editor ZeeBee.
Maye is ticking a lot of boxes, but he’s still playing a waiting game behind veteran starter Jacoby Brissett. The Patriots aren’t about to waver from that plan, despite good reasons to reconsider the depth chart.
Patriots Sticking to Plan With Drake Maye
Covington’s optimism about Maye is shared by offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. The play-caller admitted, “The plan’s in place and we’re starting to see him grow on the practice field as well,” per Daniels.
That part about the plan being in place is telling about the Patriots’ current thinking at football’s most important position. So is head coach Jerod Mayo standing firm on whether to sign another experienced passer.
The judgement seems sound when the Pats have a sieve-like offensive line surrendering too many sacks. Van Pelt’s offense is also devoid of true game-breakers at wide receiver.
Those are ample reasons for Mayo and his staff to consider the whole season a transition. This explains keeping Brissett in the firing line, but if the Patriots are using the ’24 campaign as one big learning curve, why play it safe? What does a stop-gap quarterback actually protect for a rebuilding team?
The time is fast approaching for Maye to get his chance. He’s doing all he can to make the decision for his coaches.
Like Heavy.com’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy.com
The post Patriots Coach Already Has Good Reason to Hate Drake Maye appeared first on Heavy.com.