How Patriots’ Drake Maye Feels About Individual Progress

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Patriots coaches have been impressed by Drake Maye's ability to handle and improve on everything being thrown his way.

Maye himself senses his level of early progress, too.

"Yeah, I like to say so," Maye said Tuesday after he jumped up the depth chart and took second-team reps behind only veteran Jacoby Brissett.

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He credited the defense for throwing so much at him and the Patriots' offense.

"We're getting great work in here," Maye said. "So I'd like to say so, but at the same time, there's always practices each day. You saw it out there today, some throws I wish I had back and some throws I felt pretty good about."

Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Maye has made strides as it relates to calling plays in the huddle and footwork. Van Pelt explained the importance of a quarterback's footwork in his offense, and noted how it goes hand-in-hand with timing and play concepts. Maye and others have been seen working extensively on footwork during individual drills.

"I think it's all about timing, timing up the drop with the concepts," said Maye, who received 14 snaps in team drills Tuesday. "All the little things, there's a lot that goes into playing quarterback so trying to focus on those."

Maye believes he's picking up the terminology, including the motions and formations. But despite Van Pelt's sentiments, Maye said commanding the huddle and aligning footwork to the concept are still the biggest areas he’s trying to improve.

"He's doing well. He's headed in the right direction," Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said before practice at Gillette Stadium. "A lot of times people think it's this longitudinal, just straight line up to the top, and realistically, it's up and down, up and down, up and down. But hopefully, you end up still -- from left to right -- going in the right direction. So, he's doing well."

Maye acknowledged he's still trying to take everything in and learn what he can from veteran signal-callers like Brissett and Bailey Zappe, who took third-string reps in the final open-to-media OTA practice.

But Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, believes it's going in the right direction.

"I think it's a work in progress and feel pretty good about it," Maye said.

Maye and the Patriots return to the practice field Thursday. New England then will host a three-day mandatory minicamp, with an open-to-media session set for Monday.