Patriots’ Drake Maye To Receive Increased Opportunity At Camp

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has experienced the customary struggles that come with being a rookie in the National Football League.

New England, having fully expected that, plans on doing everything it can to help him out.

“We all support Drake,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said Thursday, per team-provided video. “I know what it’s like to be a rookie, and it’s not all peaches and cream… It’s the second week of training camp. We have a game here a week from now. He’ll have an opportunity to go out there and participate with — if you want to call it the ones, the ones — but we mix and match.”

Maye’s troubles have shown up in the (extremely unofficial) stat sheet, as we charted him as going 55-of-87 with one interception and a myriad of “sacks” during the first six days of training camp. It’s abundantly clear that Maye isn’t fully to blame for the way the offense has looked when he’s out there, though, as Calvin Anderson, Michael Jordan, Atonio Mafi, Layden Robinson and Vederian Lowe have been rather disastrous in front of him.

Jacob Warren, Kayshon Boutte and JaMycal Hasty aren’t going to strike fear in the hearts of anyone, either. The Patriots know Maye isn’t rocking with a bunch of superstars, but also know it’s where he needs to start as he experiences the transition into a whole new world.

“I would say all the rookies are battling through something,” Mayo said. “It’s a different scheme. It’s a different stake. There’s just so much that has changed for these guys, but what you want to see is that they handle it the right way. You don’t want to see the explosions on the sidelines, you don’t want to see any of that. It’s all about turning the page.”

Maye has done that.

“I got this feeling when we met with Drake in (North) Carolina, just his mental toughness and competitiveness,” Mayo said. “He understands that it’s not always going to be clean. I will say, he’s handled it well. I know the players have really enjoyed working with him, and he’s a competitor.”

The Patriots will take on the Carolina Panthers next Thursday, which is when we’ll get our first look at what the rookie quarterback can do in an uncontrolled setting — his true first test.