Josh McDaniels shares his initial impressions of working with Drake Maye

"He’s going to place high expectations on himself. I know that for sure."

Josh McDaniels is excited to work with Drake Maye. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

June 3, 2025

2 minutes to read

There’s only so much that can (and should) be gleaned from watching OTA practices in June — weeks before the official start of training camp and full-contract drills.

But during these early days of the NFL postseason, coaches are keeping tabs on players either thrust into new roles or poised for greater returns to see how they’re bracing for a consequential season.

And while Drake Maye already offered up plenty of promise as a rookie in 2024, his new offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels acknowledged Monday that he’s already been impressed with what he’s seen so far from the 22-year-old signal-caller so far this spring.

“He’s doing really well. He’s very smart, works really hard,” McDaniels said Monday at Gillette Stadium. “I think the quarterback room in general is really, really good in terms of putting the time and effort in at this time of the year. We either make a good play or we learn from the result. Sometimes as a coach, and nobody wants to hear this, the negative results can actually be your best teachers.

“Because you have a play that didn’t go the right way, and you learn from it. The biggest key for us going forward is when we learn from a mistake, can we go out there the next day and not repeat the same error? I think [Maye is] doing a really good job of digesting the information, processing the corrections when there is a correction to be made, and go out there with a great attitude and mindset the next day.”

After an uneven start to OTAs (including a four-interception showing during 11-on-11 drills back on May 20), Maye regained his form on Monday. According to The Boston Globe’s Nicole Yang, Maye completed 14 of his 16 throws during 11-on-11s, while also connecting on some deep throws to Stefon Diggs — who remains limited while working his way back from a torn ACL.

Drake Maye to Stefon Diggs pic.twitter.com/MOjCeIRoVs
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) June 2, 2025

Even though Maye impressed in 2024, the second-year pro will likely undergo some growing pains this spring and summer as he learns a new offense under McDaniels. The lack of continuity with offensive coaching personnel can negatively impact a young QB when it comes to starting from square one each preseason.

But McDaniels — who has catered offensive schemes to several QBs in New England like Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cam Newton, and Mac Jones — believes that Maye has the skill set in place to immediately build off of a strong rookie season.

“He’s going to place high expectations on himself. I know that for sure,” McDaniels said. “We certainly want to try and get the best result out of our quarterback position on every play… I see a guy that has a great attitude and mindset of coming out here to be the best version of himself.”