The Drake Maye Report: In pads, pressure heats up rookie

The Drake Maye Report: In pads, pressure heats up rookie originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

FOXBORO — On Monday, the pads came on at Patriots practice. That meant a more intensified focus on the running game. But it also meant a more physical pass-rush. It meant more handsy defensive backs, both at the line of scrimmage and at the catch point.

It ended up being a difficult day for the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft. Let’s get to the details in our Day 5 edition of the Drake Maye Report.

The rep report

Maye received six reps in the lone 7-on-7 period of practice to go along with 13 reps in 11-on-11 periods. Those 19 total snaps were about in line with the 18 competitive reps he saw in the previous practice.

And, as has been the case over the last several practices, Maye and top quarterback Jacoby Brissett got about the same volume of work. Though it was Brissett who was the first quarterback up in all team periods, he also got six 7-on-7 snaps and 14 plays of 11-on-11 work. Brissett ended up with one more rep, in all likelihood, because there was one botched snap count with Brissett that might’ve led to a do-over from the coaching staff.

Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton continued to split the remaining quarterback reps, but the way in which Maye has been handled has been consistent throughout camp. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is trying to develop Maye with real action on the field, not just having him watch from the sidelines.

Crunching the numbers

Maye finished the 7-on-7 period completing just two of his six attempts, including one interception. He went 1-for-4 in 11-on-11 periods and was “sacked” during one rep. In all, he went 3-for-10 in competitive periods.

Brissett, meanwhile, went 4-for-6 in 7-on-7 work. He was nearly perfect in 11-on-11s, going 8-for-9, with his lone incompletion coming thanks to a drop by rookie wideout Ja’Lynn Polk. In all, he went 12-for-15, in what was decisively the best quarterback performance of the day.

Play of the day

For Maye, there were no standout plays. Of his three completions, the longest connection was likely a completed curl route to fellow rookie Javon Baker in 11-on-11 work. He also hit tight end Jacob Warren and Kayshon Boutte for modest gains in 7-on-7 work.

Why he’s ready

In this section of The Drake Maye Report, we’ll highlight the portions of the rookie’s performance that suggest he’s prepared to sit atop the hierarchy of quarterbacks in New England sooner rather than later.

May have to stretch a bit here since there weren’t obviously-positive moments to point to in this run-heavy practice. Therefore, this may be the rare (I think) case in which we reference the same play in both our “Why He’s Ready” and “Why Patience Is a Virtue” sections.

In an 11-on-11 period about midway through the practice, Maye was faced with what ended up looking like an all-out pressure. He was immediately moved off his spot by interior pressure and threw a pass away out of bounds.

One thing that has stood out about Maye through five practices is his athleticism to be able to get himself out of trouble — something he’ll need whenever he’s named the starter, particularly if there remain questions along the offensive line. There are situations in which an incompletion won’t kill a drive, but a sack will. On that particular play, Maye flashed the ability to turn a potentially negative play into a no gain.

Why patience is a virtue

In this section of The Drake Maye Report, we’ll highlight the portions of the rookie’s performance that suggest he’s not quite ready to sit atop the quarterback depth chart.

While Maye was able to remove himself from immediate trouble on that particular snap, he might’ve been able to further wiggle himself out of a tight spot by having an answer before getting flushed from the pocket.

It should come as little surprise that Maye is not yet at the stage of having the “answers to the test” pre-snap, as Tom Brady used to say. But as he develops, and as he gets more accustomed to the types of exotic pressures he’ll face from NFL defenses, he’ll likely have different tools in his quarterbacking tool belt to be able to handle challenging blitzes.

Maye had brief bouts of inaccuracy on Monday, falling as he threw one incomplete, and making tight end Mitchell Wilcox lay out for a pass that probably should’ve been completed. But there were multiple plays on Day 5 — the throwaway when under pressure, and a sack on a roll-out — where perhaps Maye could’ve had an answer before having to try to use his athleticism to avoid a negative result.

It’s worth noting: Maye worked with reserve center Atonio Mafi — inexperienced at the center spot — on Monday. David Andrews was out, meaning veteran backup center Nick Leverett worked with Jacoby Brissett. In this scheme, centers are typically relied upon to take charge in setting protections pre-snap, meaning Maye had less experienced help than usual.

That’s not to excuse away any of Maye’s performance, but it’s context that should be highlighted as we assess what we’ve seen.