An uneven Drake Maye, vocal Mike Vrabel, and other takeaways from Patriots’ OTA practice
"This is a hard time in the spring when every pass play is third-and-10."
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots’ voluntary offseason program continued on Wednesday with another session of organized team activities (OTA) at the practice fields between Gillette Stadium.
OTAs are a four-week program in the late spring where 11-on-11, 7-on-7, and 9-on-7 drills are permitted.
Even though OTAs are non-contact, the work put in at this stage of the offseason gives coaches an early window to set the foundation and principles that they will stress in late July once training camp begins.
New England will hold 10 days of OTA work, with this segment of the NFL offseason ending with a mandatory minicamp from June 9-11.
Media is allowed to attend one OTA session a week, including Wednesday’s practice in Foxborough.
After drawing six takeaways from last week’s practice, here are four more takeaways from Wednesday’s reps:
Offense remains a work in progress
The good news? Unlike last week’s practice, Drake Maye was not knocked for four interceptions during 11-on-11 drills Wednesday afternoon.
Still, it wasn’t exactly the sharpest showing from New England’s top QB during this latest media-attended OTA session — with Maye completing 9-of-17 throws, often for short-yardage pickups.
While it’s to be expected for an offensive unit to go through some growing pains during these early days of installing plays and calls with Josh McDaniels now running the show, Maye and Co. didn’t showcase much in terms of consistency — with Hunter Henry receiving a majority of the QB’s targets. Maye’s final play of the afternoon was a fumbled snap between the QB and center Garrett Bradbury.
Backup QB Joshua Dobbs completed 10 of his 16 throws during 11-on-11s with an interception — with cornerback Myles Battle snagging a ball that was initially dropped by John Jiles.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s session, Vrabel deflected some of the concerns over Maye’s inaccuracy.
“Well, I care. I care about every player’s performance and that we continue to improve. There has been great improvement,” Vrabel said. “Everybody’s going to have a bad day. There’s a lot of reasons that go into it. We’re not going to analyze every single practice and have explanations for things that came up. The command, the operation, all those things have continued to improve. … We only have so many of these opportunities. I’m hopeful that in front of us, the media, that we have a better day.”
Early returns are promising for defense
There’s only so much that can be gleaned from football practices in late May. Not only is it a given that defenses are well ahead of offenses at this stage of the offseason, but it’s tough to gauge several players on both sides of the ball during non-contact drills.
Still, it’s been an encouraging start so far for a Patriots defensive unit that should be an area of strength in 2025 following several offseason pickups — as well as the return of Christian Barmore.
More concrete takeaways will be drawn out of training camp, but a Patriots defensive line featuring Barmore, Milton Williams, Keion White, and Harold Landry often gave Maye and Dobbs limited time to operate in the pocket — with Williams also getting credited with a pass breakup.
Rookie safety Craig Woodson also had a solid day with a pass breakup.
The Patriots have a long way to go when it comes to turning preseason hype into established production on the field.
But new Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane believes that this grouping in Foxborough has the means to be a top defense in 2025.
“I strive to be the best teammate I can be every day. We got 11 guys doing that, playing for each other, running to the ball, effort and finish on every play, Spillane said. “We’re going to have a good year.”
Even with another strong showing from the defense on Wednesday, Vrabel stressed to not read too deeply into whether the defense is further along than the offense.
Well, I don’t think that they’re further along. This is hard,” Vrabel said. “This is a hard time in the spring when every pass play is third-and-10. They’re pass rushing, they’re pressuring and they’re blitzing. Which is great. We have to be able to block and see everything. It is a passing camp.
“It didn’t take Keion K.C. [K’Lavon Chaisson], Christian, Milt, and Harold long to figure that out. It is what it is, which is good. Again, they know how to practice. We have to be able to speed, pass rush, stay away from the quarterback, get out of the way, stay off the ground. All those things that they’ve been able to do over the course of the first four OTAs.”
Attendance Report
The Patriots once again had a strong showing on Wednesday in terms of attendance.
The only missing players were WR Stefon Diggs, CB Carlton Davis, OT Caedan Wallace, and TE Austin Hooper — while Mike Onwenu, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Kyle Dugger were among those limited.
Diggs — who participated in OTAs last week — was not on hand at Gillette Wednesday after being spotted partying on a boat in Florida in a now-viral video.
Rhamondre Stevenson has been back with the Patriots over the last week after missing the start of OTAs following the death of his father, Robert, earlier this spring.
Beyond the players on the field, the Patriots are still awaiting the return of defensive coordinator Terrell Williams — who is working remotely in Michigan after suffering what he described as a “medical scare” this spring.
“No, just that he continues to, like our players, work hard to get back,” Vrabel said of any updates on Williams. “I’m excited to have him back. Again, the communication that I see every day with him and the players in their meetings, and I know that he’s excited. Hopefully we’ll get him back here sooner rather than later.”
Vrabel makes his presence felt
Speaking ahead of practice, Vrabel was asked about his coaching approach — especially when it comes to working with multiple players on individual drills over the span of a hectic practice session.
“When I got to Ohio State, they didn’t leave the manual underneath the desk,” Vrabels said. “So, I just kind of went with whatever I felt like was best for me and fit my style, and it’s kind of stuck.”
As coordinated as NFL practices are given the number of personnel involved — especially in a short amount of time — Vrabel believes it’s critical to allocate 1-on-1 time to players in order to both hold them accountable and ensure that they’re getting the most out of their development.
“I think it’s important. I think, one, I enjoy it. I like it. I love it,” Vrabel said. “I try to be as knowledgeable at every position as I possibly can. Some more than others – we referenced the quarterback. But having something at each position group that can maybe translate from my perspective to help the player. But then I also think that where the head coach is, is probably what the players think are important. So, I try to be a little bit everywhere.”
Vrabel put forth another teaching moment on Wednesday after second-year wideout Javon Baker reeled in a catch from QB Ben Wooldridge.
Baker flexed his arm and slowly made his way back to the huddle after the impressive snag, prompting Vrabel to call out the receiver and urge him to hustle back — as the Patriots’ offense was already waiting to run the next play.
Baker — who primarily caught passes from Dobbs and Wooldridge on Wednesday — has a tough test in front of him when it comes to solidifying his spot on this NFL roster in 2025.
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