FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The new era of Patriots football with Jerod Mayo in charge has, once again, officially begun.
Former head coach Bill Belichick rarely, if ever, opened up rookie minicamp, so Saturday was the first time in a long time that the media was allowed to observe the newbies practice in Foxborough. Instead of watching it in its entirety, however, I focused on one player only: 2024 No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye.
Here’s a detailed timeline of everything I saw New England’s new signal caller do (and say) during the roughly 60-minute practice session:
10:44 a.m. — Arrival
Maye was one of the first 10ish players on the field on Saturday, and the first quarterback ahead of fellow draftee Joe Milton III. Here’s his entrance:
Drake Maye is here. pic.twitter.com/2fAp2nyrkF
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) May 11, 2024
10:55 a.m. — Snaps under center
Following a brief stretch on his own, Maye got to work with some of the rookie interior offensive linemen Charles Turner III and Ryan Johnson to take some snaps under center.
This will likely be a big emphasis for Maye over the course of the next several months as almost all of his under-center snaps at North Carolina, which weren’t many, came in short yardage and goalline situations.
11:00 a.m. — Stretch
As the official start of practice rolled around, the rookies began their dynamic stretch. Maye worked alongside fellow offensive draftees WR Ja’Lynn Polk and WR Javon Baker. He dapped up Polk to start, and eventually greeted and gave some knuckles to executive Matt Groh.
I’m on #MayeWatch all day today.
Wait for some knuckles with Matt Groh at the end: pic.twitter.com/ugyGxsMRTN
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) May 11, 2024
11:08 a.m. — Dropbacks
After an eight-minute stretching period, the Patriots moved into positional drills. Maye and fellow rookie QB Joe Milton III working with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney, and assistants Ben McAdoo and Evan Rothstein.
Early on, they worked on under-center dropbacks to stretch out their five-step drops before moving into footwork drills. Maye and Milton were moved around by McCartney and threw into the net. Here’s a look:
Drake Maye and QBs coach T.C. McCartney: pic.twitter.com/XkX8ORB0Dh
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) May 11, 2024
11:14 a.m. — Snaps under center
The QBs went back with the centers for a quick four-minute under-center session. Maye took snaps with C Ryan Johnson and C/G Joey Ramos.
11:18 a.m. — Quick-game throws
Maye and Milton III then moved into a quick-game throw drill, lining up in the shotgun for some fast throws to the outside.
Notably, Maye was immediately in Van Pelt’s hip pocket after his attempts. Throughout the entire practice, he was in either Van Pelt’s, McCartney’s, or McAdoo’s ear whenever he was not taking reps.
11:23 a.m. — Run fits
Arguably the most important aspect of the Patriots’ new offense in 2024 will be the run game. “I think running the football in this league wins games,” Van Pelt said back in February. “Wins championships.”
Said run game became a focal point for Maye and his coaches towards the middle of Saturday’s practice. He worked both under center and out of the shotgun with RBs DeShaun Fenwick and Terrell Jennings to work on their run fits.
11:28 a.m. — Routes on air
In the first full practice period where the quarterbacks and wide receivers worked together, Maye notably got some throws in with Polk, Baker, and seventh-round tight end Jaheim Bell among others.
On one attempt thrown into the wind, Maye underthrew Bell by a wide margin on a corner route. Other than that, he was relatively dialed in with routes on air.
11:37 a.m. — Some under-center play action
Building off of their run-game drills earlier in practice, Maye and Milton then worked on play action. The two would play fake, turn their back to the defense, and then hit the running back on a dump-off in a drill likely more focused on footwork than execution.
11:40 a.m. — Team drills
With just under 20 minutes left in practice, the Patriots brought the big boys to meld the skill players with the offensive line. Drake Maye was up first for QBs. Here was his unit:
LT: Caedan Wallace
LG: Layden Robinson
C: Ryan Johnson
RG: Charles Turner
RT: Hyrin White
RB: DeShaun Fenwick
WRs: Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, David Wallis
TE: Jaheim Bell
The group worked on handoffs, quick game, and under-center play action.
11:49 a.m. — 7-on-7
Bringing in the defense and kicking the lineman out, practice moved to 7-on-7 drills for the skill players.
Maye worked with RB Terrell Jennings this time, again alongside Polk, Baker, Bell, and Wallis. He missed Bell on the first rep, throwing way behind him on what looked like a misread between the two in short zone coverage. Other than that, he was solid and fluid.
11:56 a.m. — Practice complete
Keeping some Bill Belichick tradition on the fields outside of Gillette, the Patriots finished practice running the hill.
12:12 p.m. — Media availability
We spoke with Maye following Saturday’s practice:
“It’s awesome,” Maye said of his second practice as a Patriot. “Excited to be out here with the guys just out here on the field again. You know I’ve been training and doing all the stuff on my own — to get out here with the team and going through some plays and just trying to soak it all in and have fun and just learn as much as I can.”
“Yeah man they look good,” he said on wide receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. “…they made some plays in 7-on-7. I threw a couple behind them and they made the catches… they’re special players.”
Rookie linemen Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson also both spoke after practice and cited Maye’s leadership as something they’ve seen from the quarterback:
“Drakes awesome,” said Wallace. “He’s a calm, cool, collected type of guy. A great leader.”
“He’s a leader,” said Robinson.
The Patriots’ offseason program continues next week with veterans returning to town on Monday. The group’s first on-field OTA together as rookies and vets will be the following Monday, May 20th.
Follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high-stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay.
