The Drake Maye Report: Rookie QB isn't lighting it up, and that's OK

FOXBORO -- Things looked like they were speeding up on Drake Maye and the Patriots offense.

One throw went into traffic and fell incomplete. Then came a bad snap, an immediate pressure, and another miss. Then came a fumbled handoff. Then there was a stuffed run that had the entire defense losing its collective mind. Later there was another pressure and another incompletion.

Maye had an opportunity to make up for it and hit one final play in a gotta-have-it situation, lobbing a pass to the corner of the end zone and fellow rookie Javon Baker. It was broken up by corner Shaun Wade, and the offense was forced to do push-ups. The defense continued to whoop it up.

Maye finished that period of practice -- where the offense was given an opportunity to drive the field and punch one into the end zone -- 1-for-6, with his lone completion coming on a crossing route to rookie second-round wideout Ja'Lynn Polk.

Maye finished the day, which focused heavily on red-zone work, going 8-for-15 in competitive periods.

His footwork wasn't an obvious problem, and there were moments his protection let him down. But there were also overthrows from clean pockets to open receivers. There was a moment where the entire offense had to re-huddle with the rookie at the helm.

Things are moving quickly for the No. 3 overall pick. His head may be spinning. But that is to be expected through six practices.

This Alex Van Pelt offense is a timing-and-rhythm-obsessed system. That was not how Maye's offense was structured in college. It is, in all likelihood, going to take a while for him to get comfortable playing in a scheme where there are very clear guidelines as to where your feet and eyes should be on certain plays at certain times. There's a rigidness to it that is foreign for him.

The Patriots have to hope that Maye will eventually find the balance between following all the rules he's asked to follow while understanding when to cut loose the athleticism and instincts that make his game his game.

That will take time. And that's OK. It usually does. To use a recent example, we are exactly one year removed from C.J. Stroud's first day of padded practice in Houston when he threw two interceptions and was still battling Davis Mills for the starting job.

Let's get to our Drake Maye Report for Day 6...

The rep report

Jacoby Brissett continued to get all of the first-team reps with the top offensive linemen on Tuesday.

It'd be interesting to see if the Patriots would ever give Maye some of those snaps simply because the second-team line has at times looked overwhelmed in ways the first group has not -- particularly with David Andrews out (he missed two practices) and veteran lineman Nick Leverett bumped up to the top center spot. The shuffling to deal with Andrews' absence has left reserve lineman Atonio Mafi, who's new to the center position, as Maye's pivot.

As far as snap counts Tuesday, Brissett ended up getting 16 reps of 11-on-11 work and four snaps in the lone 7-on-7 period of the day. Maye, meanwhile, got 20 snaps of 11-on-11 work and four 7-on-7 snaps.

If you can get a read on what decision-makers value by where they spend their time, it's worth noting the Patriots value Maye's development to the point that he's actually getting more total snaps behind center -- albeit second-team snaps -- than Brissett.

Crunching the numbers

Maye, as we pointed out above, went 8-for-15 on Tuesday, including hitting on six of his first eight competitive throws. 

Though Maye was pressured on four 11-on-11 snaps, I didn't spot a "sack" during Maye's time on the field, and he did not throw any picks. His one play that might've been deemed turnover-worthy was a rolling-to-his-left bullet that bounced off Polk's outstretched hand and hung in the air for a moment before falling incomplete.

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Brissett went 7-for-13 on the day with three sacks taken. As was the case with Maye, there was a moment when the offense needed to re-huddle under Brissett's guidance. The three best plays of the day for the Patriots offense came with Brissett behind center, though.

He hit Polk for a 50-50 score in the back corner of the end zone, he anticipated an open window on a touchdown throw to Hunter Henry, and he hit K.J. Osborn for about a 20-yard gain by layering a throw in between Patriots defenders for another highlight. 

Play of the day

For Maye, there was no clear-cut, top-flight play. He hit on three good-looking passes early in the practice during a one-on-one period: a corner route to Osborn, an out-route to Polk and another corner to tight end Mitchell Wilcox.

His best play in team periods, though, was his crossing route to Polk in 11-on-11 work late in the practice. He showed good feel in the pocket by stepping up and away from pressure that came quickly off the edge of right tackle Vederian Lowe, then pitched a strike to his sure-handed rookie classmate.

Why he's ready

In this section of The Drake Maye Report, we'll highlight the portions of the rookie's performance that suggest he's prepared to sit atop the hierarchy of quarterbacks in New England sooner rather than later.

That feel for pressure Maye exhibited is the kind of thing he may have to show he's capable of exhibiting on a regular basis before Patriots coaches are comfortable trotting him out in the regular season. Maye spent parts of the first two days of Patriots practices scrambling away from pressure relatively early in downs, showing off his athleticism, but not truly allowing the passing concept to develop. 

If, as time wears on, Maye can show that he knows when to navigate the pocket despite pressure versus when to bolt for yardage? That might be as good a sign as any that he's matured at his position.

Maye also might help his case if he proves that he's diagnosing defenses consistently before the ball is even snapped. It's not happening on a constant basis at this stage, but it is happening occasionally. For instance, he found JuJu Smith-Schuster for a touchdown on a slant during a red-zone period when he let the ball fly as soon as he hit his back foot in the pocket. He was decisive. He was quick. He was accurate. 

Maye hit on six of his first eight competitive throws of the day by taking what was given to him. He wasn't pressured on any of his first four 11-on-11 pass attempts, which likely helped him at a higher rate than he did later in the practice when his protection became more of an issue.

Why patience is a virtue

In this section of The Drake Maye Report, we'll highlight the portions of the rookie's performance that suggest he's not quite ready to sit atop the quarterback depth chart.

Since showing signs of wonky footwork on Day 3 of Patriots camp, Maye has looked cleaner in that regard in the following three practices. I counted just three of his 15 throws Tuesday, for example, as being off-platform. He completed one.

One came as a result of a bad snap and an immediate pressure. Another came as a result of a quick pressure from Keion White, who has at times overwhelmed the second unit along the offensive line when given the opportunity.

His hiccups of late -- the evidence as to why he's likely not yet ready for real action -- haven't been because of looseness with his mechanics. In my opinion.

Instead, in my view, Maye actually has looked a little tight at times. He could very well be overthinking, as you might expect from someone in his position. But there have been throws he's missed from clean pockets lately that are hard to explain. 

There were overthrows to Hunter Henry and Osborn from clean pockets early in the session on Tuesday. He's thrown wide of short-area targets. He's thrown behind on-the-move in-breakers. All with time to throw and his feet firmly beneath him.

Once his comfort level in the pocket and within the offense improves, his accuracy should as well. But what we're seeing is what many expected to see at the time he was drafted. He's an unfinished product, and it'll take more than six practices for him to transition from wild stallion to saddle horse.