FOXBORO — The Patriots anointed Drake Maye as the future of their franchise when they drafted the North Carolina quarterback third overall last month.
The process of preparing Maye for that burden began in earnest this week.
New England held its two-day rookie minicamp Friday and Saturday, with Maye and the rest of the Patriots’ 2024 draft class hitting the practice field for the first time alongside a handful of undrafted free agents and two dozen tryout players.
The practices were short — Saturday’s ran less than an hour — and largely non-competitive. But the days were long, especially for Maye.
Head coach Jerod Mayo said the 21-year-old QB was at the facility “all night” Friday, and Maye planned to put in a least seven or eight more hours of work after Saturday’s session before retiring to the team hotel.
“It’s been a lot,” Maye said. “But it’s been fun.”
Such is life for a highly touted rookie QB.
For Maye, the transition to New England has involved learning coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s new Patriots offense and the nuances that come with it. Among those: a style of footwork that differs from what Maye was taught at North Carolina.
“I’m trying out two new stances that I’m getting used to,” Maye said. “(I’m) just working on it, repping it, and I felt pretty good out here today, so just got to keep working.”
Sloppy footwork was one of the biggest knocks on Maye as a prospect. Bill Belichick criticized that facet of his game during the NFL draft broadcast, saying it “needs a lot of work.” Improving that will be among the top priorities for Van Pelt, quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney and senior offensive assistant Ben McAdoo — the triumvirate of Patriots assistants who will spearhead Maye’s NFL education.
“I think (Van Pelt) is doing a great job of coaching me hard, and I want to be coached hard,” Maye said. “And once you kind of time it up, it comes easy. It kind of comes with rhythm and (you) match up concepts with footwork. … He knows there’s going to be a growing side, a mental side to it, so he’s understanding. But also, if you’re not doing your right job, he’s going to tell you. So it’s been awesome so far.”
While Maye is far from a finished on-field product, he’s already taken steps to assert himself in New England’s locker room. Fellow rookies Ja’Lynn Polk, Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson all praised the top pick for his leadership skills.
“The guy can sling it, man,” said Polk, the first of two wide receivers the Patriots drafted. “He’s very confident. He’s a leader, very vocal and just trying to find ways to put this team in the best opportunity possible. … He’s setting the tone in practice, trying to get guys moving around and operating at a high level.”
“Oh, he’s a leader,” Robinson added. “He’s a leader, especially in the huddle. … Drake’s a great guy, and I just love his energy and intensity when he’s in the huddle. … Just having that leadership around and having that energy, you’ve always got to bring your best energy, too.”
Maye said he’s encouraged his teammates to devote additional time to film study.
“I think as a quarterback, you’ve got to know what everybody’s doing on the field on the offense,” he said. “You’ve got to know all 11; you don’t (have) to know just my job. You’ve got to know what everybody’s doing, and that takes extra time. That takes extra drawing up, extra questions.
“So I’m just trying … get the other guys around me. Get them with me. Staying later, getting here earlier. I just told the receivers to go and watch practice and just hear it from my perspective. Because that’s what happens on the field: The ball’s in my hands, and I’m distributing it to them.”
Whether the ball will be in Maye’s hands Week 1 remains to be seen. The Patriots have an ideal short-term option in respected veteran Jacoby Brissett, whom they signed this offseason to mentor and potentially start over Maye if they believe the latter needs more development time.
How Maye, Brissett, rocket-armed sixth-round rookie Joe Milton III and third-year pro Bailey Zappe place themselves on New England’s QB depth chart will be one of the top storylines once veterans arrive for organized team activities later this month.
“Look, he has a lot to work on,” Mayo said of Maye. “A lot to work on. But I have no doubt that he will put the time in.”
