Even though Drake Maye is battling him for the starting quarterback job, Jacoby Brissett is impressed with the New England Patriots rookie.
Brissett shared the progressions Maye's gone through in his first several weeks with the team following the Patriots' first mandatory minicamp practice on Monday.
“Oh, definitely. Tremendously, man. Every day, he’s gotten better,” Brissett told reporters. “The good thing about it is it’s not like, ‘I’ve got it right now and I’m not thinking about it.’ He’s constantly trying to find ways to get better. He’s making some nice throws out there, and you’re seeing it progressing.
“He’s made tremendous strides not only calling the plays, footwork, throwing the ball, and his overall understanding of this offense,” Brissett added.
Maye's improvement has been apparent so far in offseason workouts, at least in terms of his reps. When the Patriots began organized team activities (OTAs) in May, Maye appeared to be third on the depth chart, receiving snaps behind Brissett and Bailey Zappe.
That changed though by the end of OTAs. Maye received second-team snaps in practice, presumably passing Zappe on the depth chart.
Maye's standing as the presumed No. 2 quarterback on the Patriots' depth chart remained at the first practice of minicamp. He reportedly impressed at practice on Monday as well, completing 12 of 17 passes during team drills, per the Boston Herald.
The continued progression of Maye and his perceived rise up the depth chart have many thinking that he could wind up becoming the team's starting quarterback when the season begins in three months.
But Jerod Mayo doesn't want people to read too much into how Maye's being used during offseason practices.
“No, not at all. I think I talked about this a little bit last week. The depth charts, there really are no depth charts. I mean, we can say the first group, the second group. We’re trying to mix and match offensively and defensively just to see what combinations work,” the Patriots coach told reporters. “And honestly, still trying to see where your depth is. And so on a depth chart, it’s like, all right, he’s a right tackle. But let’s see if we can move him here, different combinations. That’s part of the whole process.”
Jerod Mayo shared where he's been impressed with Patriots QB Drake Maye
Patriots veteran receiver K.J. Osborn recently revealed to reporters how Maye has already taken a bit of a leadership role in the locker room.
“His locker is two lockers down, and he said, ‘K.J., I wanted to tell you something,'” Osborn said. “He wasn’t even the quarterback [on the play but] he’s locked in, watching film, giving me a tip. That’s somebody you can see is studying the game.”
Mayo was asked about Osborn's story of Maye on Monday. He backed up Osborn's claim that Maye's been active in getting players on the right page.
“Yeah, I think you hit it on the head. A guy who he’s dialed in every rep, even the reps that he’s not in,” Mayo said. “I think it’s smart of him to go talk to a guy like K.J. who has had good quarterbacks in the past. You know, so those guys can be on the same page. The same thing with Jacoby and the rest of the quarterbacks is being on the same page with the guys they are going to throw the ball to, is definitely huge. You know, it’s always good when a guy is curious and he has a natural curiosity about football, X’s and O’s, and all that stuff.”
Maye has notably put in extra work so far at the start of his tenure with the Patriots. Mayo has said that Maye has been in the building for over 12 hours per day. The quarterback has also typically been among the final group of players to leave practice, working with rookie receivers Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker on a frequent basis.
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