FOXBORO — A strong rookie season comes with high expectations for Drake Maye as the Patriots quarterback enters Year 2.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels isn’t worried about his quarterback being under too much pressure, however.
Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, flashed a high degree of accuracy, athleticism and playmaking ability last season, completing 66.6% of his passes for 2,276 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with 54 carries for 421 yards and two more scores in 12 starts with a subpar supporting cast.
“I think if I know him very well, which I’m learning more and more about him every single day, he’s going to place high expectations on himself,” McDaniels said. “I know that for sure. We’re certainly going to want to try to get the best result out of our quarterback position every play that we can, and I think that’s all we can control. We can’t really control outside expectations.
“We’re certainly going to try to do the very best we can with our opportunities. And I see a guy that has a great attitude and mindset about coming out here and trying to be the best version of himself that he can be, and I know that that’s what he can control. It’s what we can control as coaches, and hopefully we meet our expectations, which will eventually be yours.”
Maye struggled in his first organized team activities (OTA) practice open to the media, throwing four interceptions in his first eight throws two weeks ago.
He avoided turnovers in the second OTA practice open to reporters last Wednesday but completed just over 50% of his passes during 11-on-11 drills. The North Carolina product was much better Monday, going 14-of-16 in 11-on-11 drills and once again avoiding any interceptions.
“We either make a good play or we learn from the result,” McDaniels said Monday. “And so sometimes, as a coach, and nobody wants to hear this, but sometimes as a coach, the negative results can actually be your best teachers, because you have a play where something didn’t necessarily go your way or the right way, and then you learn from it.
“And then the biggest key for us as we go forward is when we learn from a mistake. Can we go out there the next day and not repeat the same error? And so I think he’s doing a really good job of digesting the information, processing the corrections when there is a correction to be made, and then go out there with a great attitude, mindset the next day.”
Quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant has seen Maye embrace learning from mistakes.
“This is the time of year with no repercussions to the mistakes for us to kind of figure out what we do very well, what we might need to work on a little bit, try to fit in throws that we might not necessarily do on a Sunday,” Grant said. “So we’re kind of trying to push ourselves to the limit just to see what we can and can’t do.”
Maye’s teammates, including running back Rhamondre Stevenson, see an emerging leader in the young quarterback.
“He has that kind of umph to him,” Stevenson said. “He wants to win. He wants to get better. And he’s just out here to compete.”