The Patriots held their second open organized team activity on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, a two-hour session in which the team got closer and closer to real football.
As head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters before practice, the Patriots have turned the page from the early stages of OTA to more team drills: “Now we’re getting into real football, so first, second and third down. Now you have to put the sticks and create awareness on both sides of the ball is important,” Mayo said in his pre-practice press conference.
Last week, we criticized how Coach Mayo’s staff ran practices. My complaint was with the few reps that first-round pick Drake Maye was getting while the Patriots were going through four quarterbacks in practice last Monday. It wasn’t necessarily the order in which quarterbacks were rotated, which didn’t change much, but rather the volume of reps Maye was getting, in part because he had four quarterbacks on the roster.
On Wednesday, sixth-round pick Joe Milton was not at practice for an unknown reason, leaving Maye at third behind veteran Jacoby Brissett (first) and third-year QB Bailey Zappe (second). Due to Milton’s absence, the other quarterbacks had more opportunities. Some adjustments to the way the Patriots ran practices also made things more efficient.
For example, the Patriots divided players across their two practice fields to perform 7-on-7 drills simultaneously during an extended period of passing. On one field, Brissett primarily pitched to New England regulars while Maye worked the other field. Splitting the team into two squads, Maye got 14 competitive reps at 7-on-7, during which we saw him get into a rhythm.
Maye completed 12 of 14 passes with impressive downfield throws to speedy receiver Tyquan Thornton and veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster. The arm talent was on display when Maye launched a bucket shot to Thornton, who separated over the top on a slot fadeaway. Maye then found Smith-Schuster between two zone defenders, showing the mental side.
On the play, the Patriots ran a high-low concept inside the boundary against a cover-two defense. Maye had a route to the flat, while JuJu ran a corner route to the cover two hole. Maye manipulated the structure of the zone by pumping to the floor, holding the outside corner in his short zone, then intentionally threw slightly behind Smith-Schuster to open him up in the void of the zone.
Maye’s two incomplete passes came on an over-the-shoulder pass to rookie TE Jaheim Bell and a late throw to the floor that sophomore LB Marte Mapu broke up. Maye will want to get those two throws back, but overall, he threw the ball well in our first extended look at the Pats rookie.
While it’s important not to get ahead of ourselves in unpadded practices, it was encouraging to see Maye’s progress. We still haven’t seen the sprays that were common on Maye’s college film during the team’s drills in Foxboro. These are still not completely live replays without pads or contact. Still, baby steps. Baby steps are also a good way to describe the smoother practice compared to the first OTA last week. Coach Mayo reiterated his message about reps in practice while also joking with reporters that everyone, including himself, is constantly being evaluated.
“He’s taking advantage of the opportunities he has,” Mayo said of Maye. “We’re all being evaluated. Hopefully, everyone is open to feedback. (Vice President of Communications) Stacey (James) just told me some things I did wrong the last time I was here, so it’s all good.”
If you’re in the camp thinking, “Who is this guy telling Jerod Mayo how to run a practice?” That’s totally fine. I understand. However, my job is to tell you what I see and give my opinion. That’s why we have access to OTAs in the first place: to share our reviews with you, the fans.
Although there were fewer 11-on-11 reps for Maye, Wednesday’s practice was what we were looking for last week. Maye had his work cut out for him, albeit with backups, while the Patriots stay the course with Brissett as the current QB1. It looks like Maye is taking over as a coach and has made positive strides with his footwork. But we’ll need to see him against more threatening pressure in camp and the preseason to fully judge that.
Here are five takeaways on the offensive side of the ball from Wednesday’s Patriots OTAs:
1. A ‘Little Things’ release by Maye receives praise from Jacoby Brissett
The last of Maye’s six competitive 11-on-11 reps was nothing spectacular. However, the throw was a sign of progress by the Pats rookie. On the play, Maye beat the pressure by throwing a slant pass into tight coverage to wide receiver Kawaan Baker. After the play, Brissett approached Maye and appeared to offer some encouragement.
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