FOXBORO, Mass. — Drake Maye took what the defense gave him during Day 2 of New England Patriots training camp.
Maye, who made a few highlight-reel plays on Day 1, had more of a conservative session at Gillette Stadium on Thursday. He saw competitive reps behind Jacoby Brissett, as has been the case, while Joe Milton III jumped Bailey Zappe and took third-team reps.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo revealed before Wednesday’s practice the offensive coaching staff script out the competitive-period plays for all quarterbacks. It was easy to see that was the case Thursday as Brissett’s reps and Maye’s included the same first-snap run, fourth-snap run, etc. during 11-on-11s.
Maye went 10-for-12 in 16 competitive reps with one scramble. He is now 16-for-22 during camp. Maye went 2-for-2 in his initial 11-on-11 stretch, 6-for-6 in 7-on-7s and 2-for-4 with a drop in his second 11-on-11 session. Four of those 10 completions, however, were check downs to running backs and tight ends.
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Maye’s best throw of the afternoon was a reception by rookie wideout Ja’Lynn Polk, who ran a deep in-breaking route in the second 11-on-11 period. It would have went for a first down on game day.
“All those guys put in lots of work that nobody sees,” Polk said about the quarterback room. “All those quarterbacks do things that’s unordinary. They have things in their duffle bag that not many other people have, and they’re very special. I believe we got the best quarterback room out here.”
Maye didn’t show off much of his arm during the practice, likely to the displeasure of fans and media members in attendance. Instead, the rookie threw a mixture of slants, in-breaking routes and curls. During the 7-on-7 period, Maye looked off JuJu Smith-Schuster running down the sideline and instead threw a short pass to tight end Mitchell Wilcox.
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The conservativeness isn’t a bad thing, of course. Maye is working through footwork and mechanic improvements and is taking an extra second to ensure those aspects are correct. That should please offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, quarterbacks coach TC McCartney and other staff in Maye’s ear.
Brissett was 8-for-12 in 18 competitive reps. He went 2-for-3 in the initial 11-on-11, 5-for-6 in 7-on-7s and 1-for-3 with two sacks in the second 11-on-11 period. New England’s defense gave the offense a ton of trouble in that portion of the practice. The Brissett-led offense had a stretch when it allowed a sack, completed a quick pass and was then forced to rehuddle/take a timeout only to have a run stuffed on the opposite end of it.
On at least one of the two sacks taken by Brissett, it was easy to question if Maye’s athleticism would have allowed him to extend the play. And given the questions about the offensive line, it’s fair to think it won’t be the only time that thought creeps in.
Maye and the Patriots will be back for their third training camp practice Friday.
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Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images
