The New England Patriots did some retooling this offseason in every level of their operation. Starting with a new and improved coaching staff, offensive line, and talented skill position players all to better enhance second-year quarterback Drake Maye.
In his rookie season, Maye saw action in 13 games with 12 starts. He finished with 2,276 passing yards and 15 touchdowns with a 66.6 percent completion rate (225 completions). He also had 421 yards on the ground (ninth-best for a QB), crossing the end zone twice.
Although Maye showcased himself as a legitimate quarterback in his first season last year, there are still elements to his game that need to be improved for him to lead a successful offense for the Patriots this season.
Here are four areas that Maye can improve on for this season:
1. Ball Security
Maye needs to do a better job of protecting the ball. He threw 10 interceptions and had nine fumbles last season. Being in a more structured offense with better coaching and having a firmer grasp of his status on the team will contribute to him making better decisions with the ball.
During a press conference last season, Maye acknowledged that he needs to protect the ball better.
“I’ve got to protect the football, that’s the biggest thing. I think there’s times where my decision making, whether it’s ball security in the pocket and knowing when that timer goes off in my head- little things like that. Other than that, just taking the right play is the biggest thing.”
Maye will improve in this area by working with McDaniels and having a better understanding of the position (and a new offensive system) with a year under his belt.
2. Pocket Awareness
Maye needs to improve his pocket awareness and his presence once the ball is snapped. It’s worth mentioning that the Patriots had the worst offensive line in the NFL last season. Maye took 34 sacks in 13-games (13th-highest). He was also sacked on 9.14 percent of plays, which was the fifth-highest in the NFL.
In the pocket, Maye only had 2.3 seconds to make a play. That ranked at the bottom of the league with teams like Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Dallas, and Carolina.
Maye said he wanted to improve his footwork in the offseason. He needs to be able to have a feel for the pocket; when to step up, where to read, when to throw it. Growing an instinctive feeling for being in the pocket takes time and understanding. I think McDaniels will help propel Maye to the next level in this area.
During a press conference after a training camp session last week, Maye expressed that he wants to work on remaining a “passer” for a longer period of time when he does escape the pocket to create plays.
“Remaining a passer longer when I scramble, I think that’s big. Kind of getting outside the pocket and remaining a passer longer- open some big plays, scramble plays, and keep trying to work on footwork.”
3. Play Recognition
As Maye gets more acclimated to the speed of the NFL, he’ll start to become more familiar with the sophisticated styles and variations of defenses and be able to call it out during his pre-snap reads.
During an interview with the NFL Network on Saturday after practice, Maye said he wants to get to a level where it’s a “chess match” between him and the defense.
“Coming into year two, hopefully it’ll be a bigger stride for me- kind of take the next level to play a chess match with the defense.”
4. Leadership
Entering his second year knowing that he’s the No. 1 QB has given Maye more confidence as a leader on the team. Although he’s only 22 years old, he understands that becoming a leader is part of the job and it’s what’s needed for any team to be successful.
“A lot more comfortable coming out here knowing what to expect in year two.”
As part of being a leader, Maye organized workouts with some of his offensive skill positions players in North Carolina before the start of training camp. He got it cleared with Mike Vrabel ahead of time, as he wanted to set some time aside to work with his new teammates while also bonding and enjoying a long weekend together.
It’s also worth noting that as Maye continues to grasp the offense, he’ll obtain more confidence as a leader. He knows that he needs to do his job first before he can get on his teammates for not doing theirs, as he said during OTAs.
“Especially if offensively, if somebody’s not doing their job, it starts with me, I have to do mine first, but if somebody’s not doing their job and repeated mistakes, I think there will be consequences. I think at some point it hurts the football team and I think it hurts everybody in that building.”