Coming off a Super Bowl appearance and runner-up finish in the MVP race, Drake Maye achieved almost all he could during his second NFL season.
Looking ahead, Mike Vrabel says he knows how Maye can continue to grow in Year 3.
“I think his ability to control the game at the line of scrimmage, whether that’s operationally (or) getting us into a better play. Continue to take ownership of the offense,” Vrabel said Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting. “I mean, he’s an extension of Josh (McDaniels), and Josh sends the play in. I want Drake to own it, to own the play and bring it to life with cadence and communication, all the motions and all the things that orchestrate (the offense).”
In the Super Bowl, the Patriots repeatedly struggled with a specific type of blitz pressure, something Maye could better combat with more experience next season. Maye finished 27-of-43 for 295 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and he also took six sacks. Two days after the Super Bowl, Maye expressed confidence he would have better command of the offense in his second season under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“It felt like my rookie year in this offense,” he said. “I had a chance to learn so much from a great offensive coordinator. (Quarterbacks coach) Ashton (Grant) has been awesome with just kind of relaying the connections between the past offense that he was in last year with the Browns that we had (in 2024) and just translating it, now using our own terminology and kind of building the foundation for this offense.
“There’s so much more we can take with this offense and give me more tools and more answers at the line of scrimmage.”
On Monday, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said he expects Maye to be a full participant when the team opens its offseason program on April 20. Maye will also have a new top backup in Tommy DeVito, who re-signed shortly before the team released Joshua Dobbs earlier this month. Vrabel indicated Tuesday the team’s belief in Maye’s leadership and maturity gave them confidence to move forward without Dobbs, a journeyman whose experience and intelligence brought a steadying presence to the quarterbacks room last year.
Vrabel also shared the Patriots are looking to add a new young quarterback to their roster.
“We need a third arm. And we’ll try to find a young guy that we can develop,” Vrabel said. “We’ll potentially add to the roster, whether that’s on the 53-man roster or practice squad.”