Josh McDaniels believes Drake Maye showed ‘a lot of growth’ in Patriots’ practices with Vikings
"Excited about where he's going, where he's heading."
With the start of the regular season inching closer, now is the time for the Patriots to try and flush the mistakes out of their system. Josh McDaniels believes that Drake Maye is turning the corner in that regard.
The Patriots’ offensive coordinator was impressed with the way Maye performed in the team’s joint practices with the Vikings this past week after committing an ill-advised turnover in their preseason opener.
“I was really excited by the way he handled these practices this week,” McDaniels told the Patriots’ preseason television broadcast during Saturday’s game against the Vikings. “Practice, by nature, is always difficult because you put yourself in a scenario where you run the same thing over and over again, and that’s not really how a football game goes. So, there were a lot of long-yardage situations that he had to handle. A lot of two-minute drills. A lot of difficult low-red zone situations that he was a part of.
“We saw a lot of growth from him. Did a great job of taking care of the football.”
Maye was in sync with his receivers during team drills of the two joint practices with the Vikings on Wednesday and Thursday, according to various accounts of those sessions. While Maye was “sacked” six times during Thursday’s practice, he didn’t commit a turnover over the two joint practices.
That’s obviously encouraging, especially after Maye turned a play that should’ve been just a sack for the Commanders in last week’s preseason game into a lost fumble when he needlessly extended a play. Maye also played a clean game on Saturday, completing 4 of 7 passes for 46 yards without a turnover. He also led the Patriots to a touchdown drive on his second and final drive of the game.
McDaniels was also impressed that Maye showed out against a defense as good as Minnesota’s, which is led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
“There’s not going to be a more difficult defense to have to deal with before the ball is snapped, and then combine that with how good they are when the ball is snapped,” McDaniels added. “So, excited about where he’s going, where he’s heading. I love the way he works, the way he approaches every day. Patriot Nation should be excited, too.”
The Vikings didn’t play their starters in Saturday’s game, but their defense was fully equipped in the joint practices. Minnesota’s defense was fifth in scoring last year, returning standouts like edge rusher Jonathan Greenard on a team that went 14-3 last season.
As the Patriots opened the preseason going up against two playoff contenders in the NFC, Maye thought he showed some signs of improvement, too. However, he still thinks he has some room to grow.
“I was bummed out with how the two-minute ended in Washington, and I think we had a good first two-minute,” Maye said following Wednesday’s practice. “It was a touchdown; we needed a field goal to tie, so that’s always good. Coming back out of the second two-minute, I think we had a good first play, and then took a sack and just can’t do that.
“Things like that you learn, and you know that if the look is not there, I think in two-minute, just to find answers and learn from that. I feel like we protect the ball. I feel like I didn’t really put it in harm’s way.”
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