FOXBORO — Josh McDaniels will not be scaling back Drake Maye’s responsibilities ahead of the Patriots’ Week 2 matchup against the Dolphins.
McDaniels was emphatic in saying that he’s not putting too much on Maye’s plate. The question was posed because head coach Mike Vrabel said Monday that the Patriots would have to find out and evaluate if too much was being put on his quarterback’s plate after a 20-13 Week 1 loss to the Raiders.
“No. No. We haven’t given him anything more than what we’ve given him all year, which is not too much,” McDaniels said Thursday afternoon. “I think we have to understand it’s his first game in our system. … Thought he made a lot of good plays, thought he made a lot of good decisions, but I’m focused really on the process of him getting better every day.
“Because I think the view of it is it’s got to be a long-term vision of where this guy’s going to be. He’s going to be a really good player. … I think Drake does an incredible job of preparing. He’s got a great attitude and mindset, and we’re trying to do the things to help the team win, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Maye was 30-of-46 for 287 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the Week 1 loss. He also rushed four times for 11 yards and had a fumble.
The 2024 first-round pick didn’t play a bad game, per se, but he also didn’t show dramatic improvement from his rookie season. He also looked uncomfortable at times in his new scheme.
Maye said Wednesday that he also doesn’t feel like there’s too much on his plate and that he knows that’s what’s expected out of an NFL quarterback.
“I try to do whatever I can to study as much as I can, hear the play calls and study the formations before [McDaniels] calls them,” Maye said. “Like I said, there’s a lot of things that go into it. Being accurate, play calling, getting in and out of plays, so just trying to, like I said, get a good grip on it. The more we do that throughout the weeks and as the season goes on, the better I’ll feel in this offense.”
Overall, McDaniels went a long way to back his quarterback.
“I would say the biggest thing for me is just, he’s a young quarterback. He’s a young quarterback. He’s learning through all these experiences, and he’s the right guy,” McDaniels said when asked what improvements Maye needs to make.
“And so we’re going to have an opportunity to continue to grow and improve and get better. And I think I’ll be really jumping ahead and jumping the gun if I try to sit here and pinpoint one or two things. We work on a lot of things to try to get better every day. And he’s going to improve.”
McDaniels believed that Maye showed improvement in protecting himself in Sunday’s loss. One of Maye’s biggest strengths in 2024 was his ability to run the ball. He picked up 421 yards and two touchdowns on 54 rushing attempts — mostly scrambles — as a rookie. But he also suffered a concussion last season.
Maye looked hesitant as a runner on Sunday and wasn’t able to generate any big plays on the ground. He didn’t even pick up a first down on three scrambles and one designed run.
“His availability is what’s most important,” McDaniels said. “So, always trying to keep him healthy. Do the best we can to protect him in the passing game, which I thought, for the most part, we did a decent job of trying to do that. And then I thought he was smart when he used his legs.”
Maye felt he could have done a better job of rushing the football.
“I’ve got to do a better job of, instead of running sideways, try to get as much as I can and then slide,” Maye said. “So, get as much as I can, but really from there, in the third down and down in the goal line, try to be big and not take too much of a hit, but get what I can.”
Maye will have another opportunity Sunday to show his growth in McDaniels’ offense. The Dolphins were gashed by Daniel Jones and the Colts in Week 1. Jones was 22-of-29 for 272 yards with a touchdown while rushing for 26 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.
If Maye can have a similar stat line on Sunday, then Patriots fans should be feeling better on Sunday afternoon.