Stefon Diggs drew plenty of attention Wednesday when he told reporters he’s been playing the past couple weeks with a broken finger. But what may have gotten lost in Diggs’ revelation was why the New England Patriots wide receiver mentioned his ailment in the first place.
“I was just telling (Drake Maye), like, ‘Hey, I love the way you throw the ball. I really appreciate it,'” Diggs said, noting that Maye’s passes are easy to catch even with a disfigured digit.
Diggs isn’t alone in that belief. On a new episode of the Next Pats Podcast, Patriots tight end Austin Hooper told host Phil Perry that Maye throws a “very, very catchable football.”
What exactly does it mean to throw a “catchable” ball? Hooper gave an insightful explanation as it relates to Maye.
“He understands his route-runners,” Hooper said. “Everyone has different body mechanics, if that makes sense. Like, Kayshon Boutte (is a) much better athlete than me, so he stops differently than I do. Each player kind of has their own subtle, nonverbal tells, and Drake’s such a smart guy, he understands all these things.
“He’s able to put it in the right spot for every type of pass-catcher, whether it’s a larger tight end or it’s Pop (DeMario) Douglas, a very explosive, twitched-up receiver.”
According to Hooper, Maye has an impressive ability to deliver the ball differently to each of his pass-catchers based on their individual skill sets.
“He throws a very catchable football because he understands everyone’s individual body mechanics and the how they get in and out of breaks,” Hooper added. “So when you turn around, it’s just right where you need it to be.”
Essentially, Maye is setting his pass-catchers up for success by delivering the ball with pinpoint accuracy and pace. Not surprisingly, those pass-catchers are benefiting greatly.
Three Patriots wide receivers — Diggs, Mack Hollins and Kayshon Boutte — have caught at least 74 percent of their passes this season. Diggs (81.9 percent) and Hollins (78.9 percent) rank fifth and sixth in the NFL in catch percentage, respectively. And here’s a look at where those three wideouts rank in catch percentage over expected (CPOE), an advanced metric from NextGen Stats that measures the difficulty of a player’s receptions:
Kayshon Boutte, Patriots: 21.3 percent over expected
Ricky Pearsall, 49ers: 17.0 percent
Mack Hollins, Patriots: 15.6 percent
Puka Nacua, Rams: 14.8 percent
Stefon Diggs, Patriots: 14.6 percent
Translation? New England’s pass-catchers have been productive and explosive, which is partly a testament to Maye’s ability to throw highly-catchable balls to all areas of the field. (Maye has been one of the NFL’s best deep-ball throwers this season.)
Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner raved about Maye’s “really, really catchable, soft ball” on an early-September episode of Next Pats — and the way Maye spins it appears to be paying dividends.
Watch Hooper’s full interview with Perry on Next Pats below: