Drake Maye
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Drake Maye experienced a damaging new "issue" during the latest New England Patriots OTAs.
Things still aren’t going well for Drake Maye during OTAs. The franchise quarterback in the making for the New England Patriots continues to play like anything but and suffered a new “issue” on Wednesday, May 28.
Turnovers weren’t a problem this time, “but the issue on this day was Maye’s inaccuracy,” according to Chad Graff of The Athletic. He detailed how Maye “only completed around half his passes with several spiraling well above his intended target.”
Missing his receivers might rate as a mild improvement from consistently putting the ball into the hands of members of New England’s defense. That was the tough experience Maye endured during the first session of OTAs open to the press, on Tuesday, May 20.
There were no picks this time, but Maye’s ongoing struggle to find his range in the new offense called by returning coordinator Josh McDaniels is a growing concern.
Mistakes Stalling Drake Maye’s Progress for Patriots
Head coach Mike Vrabel began the day talking up Maye’s improvement. Yet, that became a hard sell after the third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft proved erratic with both his timing and ball placement once OTAs began.
Maye missed on eight of 17 throws and “ended with a fumbled snap,” per MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels.
11v11s
Drake Maye: 9/17
Joshua Dobbs: 10/16
Ben Wooldrige: 3/5
– In competitive drills, Maye’s day ended with a fumbled snap. No turnovers but not all that efficient. Patriots defense looks ahead of the offense.
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) May 28, 2025
McDaniels tried to make things easy on Maye early in the session, but Daniels explained problems mounted when the offense was put on the signal-caller’s throwing arm. Daniels recapped how “Maye’s first 11-on-11 period was a run-heavy session that saw the quarterback complete three short passes to TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle Williams, and Kendrick Bourne. After that, however, Maye never completed two passes in a row for the rest of the day as the offense didn’t get into a solid rhythm.”
The lack of consistency showed up during the second 11-on-11 workout, when “Maye threw behind multiple targets (Kendrick Bourne and Henderson) and had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage. Tight end Jack Westover also dropped a pass.”
Overthrows were another problem for every Patriots passer who took the field, but Maye’s mistakes are naturally the bigger news. He’s counted on to be the catalyst for the revival of the franchise, but things will depend on a raw but gifted thrower adapting to the nuances and confines of McDaniels’ complex system.
How Maye handles these early setbacks will determine how soon he can make the grade.
Patriots Need Patience With Drake Maye
While it’s been taken for granted Maye is already an elite QB1, he’s actually somebody with only 12 starts and a 3-9 record to his credit. Maye’s lacking experience and refinement, most of all the patience to work through McDaniels’ traditionally bloated schemes.
Nobody did that better than Tom Brady, and the key to the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s success was taking whatever a defense gave him. Brady had the discipline not to force the ball and go to whatever play presented him with the best chance to move the chains.
It’s the kind of patience Maye will need to master while McDaniels has the headset. There’s also a humility needed from the on-field team leader.
Maye is being touted as a true leader, but the proof will be in how he responds to every setback, even those he experiences at the time of the year when mistakes are generally accepted.