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Drake Maye has only practiced with the New England Patriots for a few weeks, but offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt believes the quarterback is already progressing.
Van Pelt shared with reporters ahead of Tuesday's organized team activities (OTAs) practice that the team is teaching some fundamentals to Maye, but he has also impressed in his short time with the team.
“The biggest thing we’re working on with him right now is calling plays from the huddle, which is new to a lot of these college guys,” Van Pelt said of Maye. “And then just playing in rhythm and time with your feet. Those are the biggest strides, I’d say, he’s made over the last few weeks.”
Van Pelt later added that Maye has been “impressive” so far, sharing he was pleasantly surprised with one element of the quarterback's game.
“I'd say the ability to pick up the footwork changes,” Van Pelt said when asked what's surprised him the most so far with Maye. “It’s a big change for a guy to come in and completely change the footwork, but we did it right away and he’s embraced it.”
While the Patriots selected Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, his footwork in college was widely criticized. Draft evaluators, scouts and even Bill Belichick noted that the quarterback had poor footwork ahead of the draft.
"You can't just stick a guy out there and expect him to be successful… we're going to take our time and do it the right way."
Alex Van Pelt talks about his approach to coaching rookie QBs and when he expects Drake Maye to get more reps in practice pic.twitter.com/xbzJXtDogd
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) June 4, 2024
So, Maye got to fixing it right away. He shared at rookie minicamp in May that he was working on improving his foot mechanics to match the cadences of Van Pelt's offensive system, noting that there's a certain way he has to use his feet under center and out of the shotgun.
Maye's also putting the work off the field to improve, too. Van Pelt shared that the rookie has been at the team's facility for 12-to-14 hours, working on-field matters along with learning the playbook and its terminology.
That's why Van Pelt isn't too concerned with Maye's ability to learn his offensive system.
“There's a lot to it,” Van Pelt said of his playbook. “There's area for growth there, but that’s not an issue with Drake. He’s a smart guy and he’ll know that.”
What Alex Van Pelt said of Drake Maye's chances to become Patriots' starting QB
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So far, there's been an expectation that Maye will serve as one of the backups to Jacoby Brissett to open up the 2024 season. However, he was actually taking reps behind Bailey Zappe in practice so far, making him third on the depth chart.
But a new development emerged on Tuesday. Maye took snaps ahead of Zappe at practice, possibly suggesting that he's now No. 2 on the Patriots' depth chart.
Jerod Mayo and the rest of the Patriots' coaching staff have emphasized that there is a quarterback competition entering the season, even though most expect Brissett to be the starting quarterback. But some have wondered when Maye will become the team's QB1, as it's likely a matter of when, not if.
Alex Van Pelt didn't break any news on when Drake Maye could be the team's starting quarterback on Tuesday, but he offered some insight on what the team's process will be before making that decision.
“I think you have to take that as a time comes, really,” Van Pelt said. “When those decisions are made they’ll be made together as a group with Eliot [Wolf] and coach Mayo. When that time comes, we’ll see. But there is no timetable. Jacoby, again, is our starter and he’s playing excellent football for us this spring. And Drake is coming on.”
For now, Van Pelt just wants to see Maye continue to progress, which he appears to be doing.
“We always talk about earning your reps around here,” Van Pelt said. “As he continues to grow and have successful practices, and start stacking those, then we can think about moving him up the depth chart.”
