New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye has his work cut out for him. Beginning his rookie season as QB2 behind starting QB Jacoby Brissett, Maye will spend most of the 2024 NFL season developing. Former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels evaluated Maye on a recent episode of Edelman's “Games with Names” podcast.

The former Patriots receiver pointed to the rookie's footwork as a starting point for the list of ways Drake can improve in his first year.

“He still needs to work his feet; he had too many throws where he’s like this, and he’s trying to do that,” Edelman said while motioning his body in two different directions. “He’ll learn that. Hopefully, he does, but that was his MO.”

McDaniels, who became the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022-23 after 18 seasons with the Patriots, pointed to Maye's lack of experience playing under center, which translated to pass-off issues and buckling under pressure in the pocket.

“I don’t think he played from under Center much, and you could tell. When there’s exchange issues, usually that’s just time on task, you know, and I doubt he did do that much in college, from what I gather,” McDaniels said. “I think those are the kind of things it’ll take some time for him to just acclimate because you can’t be thinking about how to get the ball from the center when you’re dealing with defenses, where's the blitz coming from, and what’s my read, and what coverage are they playing, you can’t be thinking about how to get the ball.”

Julian Edelman says Patriots' Drake Maye needs new cleats

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) stands in the bench area during the second half against the Washington Commanders at Commanders Field.
Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

In the Patriots' final exhibition game, rookie quarterback Drake Maye lost one of his cleats during a play against the Washington Commanders. This drove Julian Edelman crazy and into his next point on how Maye needs to upgrade his football cleats.

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“The one thing that also pissed me off is the cleat thing. He’s wearing those slipper cleats. Dude, you’re 230, 6’4,” Edelman said. “You can’t be wearing DB 195-pound cleats. You break a foot.”

It didn't take long for McDaniels to realize the exact play Edelman was referring to, remembering how quickly one of Drake's cleats slipped off his foot.

In a video posted to PFF's X, formerly Twitter, you can see the play Edelman and McDaniels refer to.

“I didn't like that,” Edelman added. “That made me mad. You gotta protect those things, especially [when] you're a quarterback. Learn how to play with the heavy [cleats].”

The Patriots open their regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.