Patriots Will Make This Coach ‘Primary’ Voice In Drake Maye’s Ear

The development of rookie quarterback Drake Maye clearly marks the top priority for the New England Patriots.

First-year head coach Jerod Mayo built out his staff with plenty of quarterback IQ and experience, a needed support for a rookie quarterback like Maye. Among those coaches, the primary communicator with Maye is new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. Returning Patriots players have expressed their excitement for Van Pelt's system as he comes over from the Cleveland Browns. Now, he has quite the responsibility of directing the Patriots.

"You know, across the league, most offensive coordinators, they interact with the quarterback, the starting quarterback for the most part," Mayo told reporters during rookie minicamp at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, per team-provided transcript. "We do have a group of coaches that have quarterback backgrounds, but I would say overall it would be AVP (Alex Van Pelt) as far as that lead guy."

Other voices, such as senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney, will surely be involved, though the current Patriots regime understands the importance of not having too many cooks in the kitchen.

"There has to be balance there, you don't want Drake hearing too many voices," Mayo added. "Once again, that's why I'm saying that AVP will be the lead guys as far as that communication with Drake."

That's already a win for Mayo, especially given what happened when Matt Patricia and Joe Judge took control and eventually derailed Mac Jones' development in 2022.

With Mayo and Maye as the primary figures of New England's future, that development remains paramount for the Patriots.