Drake Maye Report: Rookie QBs make big splashes on day one Originally published on NBC Sports Boston
Editor’s note: After each training camp practice, Phil Perry will provide an in-depth analysis of Drake May’s day. Here’s the Drake May Report, including snap counts, passing stats, and the strengths and weaknesses of the third-overall pick’s performance.
FOXBORO — Drake May simply needs to hit.
For a franchise trying to bounce back from its post-Tom Brady slump. For a fan base that’s dying to get excited about anything. It’s up to the rookie quarterback and those around him to maximize his abilities.
That’s a given. But the scenes from Day 1 of Patriots training camp were a reminder of just how much is at stake for Maye, his coaching staff, the Kraft family and those who support them.
The first summer practice of the post-Bill Belichick era was quiet as far as the Juice fans who brought the team to the field behind Gillette Stadium were concerned. It’s hard to blame them. This is a team that lacks star power after a 4-13 season that hasn’t won a playoff game in five years.
But the little bit of energy that fans in attendance emitted on Wednesday was fueled by one player the fan base had pinned their hopes on more than anyone else.
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When Maye first stepped onto the field wearing the bright red No. 10, there was a bit of a buzz. When he rolled out a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster down the right sideline in front of the stands, there were audible groans. When he floated a long pass to Jalen Reagor, reeling it in with one hand, there was a brief commotion.
Things haven’t been perfect for Maye, but on the first day of camp for this new franchise, Maye’s impressive physical talents and little else could generate some noticeable excitement from a crowd hungry for good football.
Let’s take a closer look at May’s first day.
teaHe broke down
A day after head coach Jerod Mayo announced that Drake May would have a chance to take the starting quarterback job from Jacoby Brissett, he followed through on that promise by giving May a relatively level playing field with his veteran teammate.
While Brissett was clearly the best quarterback in practice (he worked with the best offensive line and was first in every competitive period of practice), Maye was clearly second. When practice was split 11-on-11, Brissett and Maye worked on the same field with the team’s top offensive and defensive players, while Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton took adjacent fields with players further down the depth chart.
Brissett saw 11 snaps of 11-on-11 work and six snaps of 7-on-7 look. Maye saw 10 snaps of 11-on-11 work and six snaps of competitive 7-on-7 action. That’s basically a 50-50 split.
While it was Brissett who ran with the starters along the offensive line, May made significant plays to impress the coaching staff. If it continues, it’s the kind of workload that suggests the staff isn’t preparing him for a “redshirt year” no matter what.
He will get a chance to compete for the job.
SeedRun the numbers
Maye was 6-of-10 in competitive play. He had two 11-of-11 snaps that resulted in quarterback scrambles and a fumbled snap late in practice.
Brissett completed 10 of 13 passes, including interceptions by Jonathan Jones and Kyle Dugger.
bloodToday’s Review
Maye got a chance to show off his ability to generate easy RPM when he hit a soft fade down the right sideline to Jalen Reagor. It was likely a result of Maye’s pre-snap look. He likely figured the wideout would be checked in single coverage by young cornerback Azizi Hearn. The ball was quickly placed on a trajectory where Reagor could use his speed to run under the shot opportunity.
A one-handed catch from a 40-yard fielder made for a highlight-reel play, but May’s accuracy from deep, as well as his willingness to throw the ball down the field quickly and confidently, must have been encouraging to the Patriots coaching staff. It was one of the qualities that earned May the No. 3 overall pick in April.
femaleWhy is he ready
While Brissett remains the front-runner for the Patriots in Week 1, this section of the Drake May Report will highlight the rookie’s performances after every training camp practice that suggest he’s ready to step atop the New England quarterback hierarchy sooner rather than later.
Maye’s deep shot to Reagor wasn’t the only accurate shot he made down the field. That explosion was followed by another close-range hit on the very next snap. Looking down the left sideline, with rookie Ja’Lynn Polk in tight coverage, Maye’s throw along the sideline deflected Polk’s hands and fell incompletely out of bounds. If the two had connected there, the still-roaring crowd might have gone a little crazy.
As a college player, Maye’s confidence in his arm got him in trouble at times, but the fact that he’s already shown a willingness to test tight ends down the field should give the coaching staff a sense of just how explosive an offensive force he can be early in his rookie season.
As much as they give him a chance to compete, he’s giving them a chance to really feel his potential because of his aggression. And the fact that his aggression didn’t result in any turnovers or even close throws on Wednesday should be taken as a positive.
Maye’s overall athleticism has shown up at times and impressed the coaching staff. His most impressive move was a play-action bootleg (or “keeper” in the parlance of many Shanahan-adjacent schemes). He rolled to his right but stopped short to avoid being swept by an oncoming defender. He unseated his feet and hurled a sidearm fastball to Smith-Schuster, gaining about 12-15 yards.
Maye has occasionally taken off and run, but it’s unclear how often he’ll be encouraged to do so, especially in a camp where quarterbacks aren’t threatened with being touched. On one of his runs, he pumped twice and took off because he didn’t like what he saw. On another, he made one read and then appeared to get out of the pocket.
While Brissett isn’t a stationary quarterback, May is probably the better of the two when it comes to using his escape skills to get himself out of danger.
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that, barring a couple of setbacks, May has seemed to be commanding the offense and play well.
He didn’t seem flustered when he was looking at defenses. He was particularly nimble when the ball came out during 7-on-7 work, making decisions before the snap and throwing the ball without going through the motions. After the workout, teammates said he communicated plays clearly in the huddle and wasn’t afraid to check down. Five of his 10 contested attempts during practice were quick hitters.
On one play, Maye’s pre-snap work looked sound. He signaled running back Kevin Harris into the backfield from a wide-open alignment, often a man-zone indicator for quarterbacks diagnosing opposing defenses. Maye noticed that none of the defenders beyond the line were responding to Harris’s move, so he called from behind center and used hand gestures to signal his intentions to his teammates.
The play resulted in a simple handoff to Harris, but it showed he understood some of his pre-snap responsibilities.
femalePatience is a virtue.
In this section of the Drake Maye Report, we’ll highlight some of the rookie’s performances that suggest he: ~ No He’s ready to rise to the top of the quarterback rankings.
When Maye hit a speed bump, it mostly came late in practice, when the rain in Foxboro was a little more consistent. It’s unclear if it affected him, but the steady drizzle caused him to fumble a snap from backup center Nick Leverett and drop a pass to Kayshon Boutte, who was running across the middle.
May’s hands measure just over 9 inches, which puts him in the top 15 percent of quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine over the past 20 years. And his ability to handle the football in adverse weather conditions is noteworthy.
Maye made a couple of questionable decisions. He threw to Smith-Schuster with corner Isaiah Bolden right on the receiver’s back, which resulted in a deflection. And he tried to Polk deep over with two defenders right on top of the wideout.
But even that incomplete state may have been a wise decision for Maye, because he spread it out in front of Polk, preventing the receiver from receiving it or anyone else from receiving it.
