FOXBORO, Mass. — Drake Maye served as the New England Patriots backup quarterback behind Jacoby Brissett during OTAs at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
It marked the first time media was in attendance and Maye was behind only the veteran. In the previous two open-to-media OTA sessions, Maye was behind both Brissett and Bailey Zappe. On Tuesday, Zappe worked third in front of Joe Milton III.
“I think it’s a battle,” Maye said about the change. “Me, Jacoby and Bailey, we’re battling. They’re mixing up who goes with who each day and it’s not necessarily ‘Hey, you’re going first, you’re going second.’ Jacoby is getting first and from there we’re playing it by ear. Obviously, it matters how you do when you’re in there, so that’s how it happens.”
Brissett received more competitive reps (25) than Maye (14), Zappe (10) and Milton (four). But it was New England’s defense that had the upper hand in competitive 11-on-11s in the red zone. The defensive pressure clearly got to Maye and his quarterback counterparts. For what it’s worth, though, the offense outperformed the defense in competitive 7-on-7s.
Story continues below advertisement
Maye went 4-for-7 in 11-on-11s but threw a pair of interceptions. The first came when he threw over the head of JuJu Smith-Schuster at midfield and the second came in the red zone after a miscommunication between Maye and wide receiver Demario Douglas. All three of Maye’s completions in 11-on-11s came to running backs out of the backfield.
Maye said he likes to think he’s shown progress during the eight OTA practices, but credited the defense for making it tough on him and the offense.
“You saw out there today, some throws I wish I had back and some throws I felt pretty good about,” Maye said. “So, just take it one day at a time.”
Maye did perform better in 7-on-7s. He completed three of four passes with two touchdowns in his four reps. Maye threw a nice ball to Smith-Schuster, who hauled it in near the pylon and threaded the needle to Douglas on an in-breaking route the next snap. Maye’s lone incompletion during the stretch was intended for depth tight end Jacob Warren and was broken up by cornerback Mikey Victor.
Story continues below advertisement
Maye said he’s feeling comfortable with the terminology, along with understanding the motions and formations. But he said commanding the huddle and making his footwork align with the play concept are areas he’s working to get better at.
Prior to practice Tuesday, Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt highlighted Maye’s footwork as the area he has shown the biggest amount of growth.
“I think it’s a work in progress and feel pretty good about it,” Maye said.
Story continues below advertisement
The eighth OTA session Tuesday marked the final open-to-media practice until mandatory minicamp starts Monday.
Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images
