Drake Maye's Training Camp Accuracy Can Take Patriots Offense to Another Level

FOXBORO --- Drake Maye is firing on all cylinders.

The New England Patriots quarterback, strapping on the pads for the first time this summer at training camp, was deadly accurate last season. This year might end up being more precise.

Through two padded practices, Maye has gone 7-for-8 in 7s, and 19-for-21 in full 11-on-11s. Those numbers are just not normal.

And it's not just Maye zoning in on one specific target. He's been able to connect with Kayshon Boutte, A.J. Brown, Hunter Henry, Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas ... the list continues. The 23-year-old quarterback has spread the wealth beyond belief.

It's hard to imagine that Maye can improve on last year's MVP-like season. It's not just his accuracy that's being taken to another level. It's also his vocal leadership.

Jul 28, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) signs an autograph for a fan after practice at training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"I’m just trying to be myself, I think is the big thing," Maye told reporters on Friday. "I think it is natural when you are in the second year of an offense and you feel like you know what you are talking about, and you can, you put a year on tape where you feel like you did some good things and knew what you were doing most of the time. So, I think that speaks for itself.

"And knowing the offense and trying to get to the level of Coach McDaniels and some of the coaches is what we are all trying to do, and kind of understand how they see it and how they want us to execute it. From there, I feel like we can direct guys and I can push guys to try to get to that level, and that is the goal."

Drake Maye's Strong Summer Inspires Confidence

Some of the throws are just not natural. He's dropping passes in the bucket for Doubs in the end zone (over Christian Gonzalez, no less). Passes to Brown, despite not often connecting early in camp, are on point. It's tough to throw balls better than what Maye's done to open up the summer.

Does he feel like he's in a rhythm?

"Yeah, I think you find that during training camp," Maye said. "You try to find a rhythm and try to find— I feel like being accurate is one of the number one things of playing quarterback and putting the ball in the right spot and giving our guys chances, and that is what I’m doing and our guys are making plays and— I think the biggest thing for us is to stay positive plays, and includes run game, passing game."

Training camp, like most years, opened up with the defense getting the better of the offense. That's changed in recent days.

The offense has begun to pick apart a defense that has spoken about wanting to be the league's highest scoring unit. It doesn't matter who's in coverage -- "I love going at good players, and I think he wants that," Maye said of Gonzalez -- the Patriots quarterback is excited to go at this defense every day.

"They do a great job of mixing up blitzes, bringing different guys and I think that is one of the best things about our defense, being in their second year as well," said Maye. "They are not just sitting there in cover four or Tampa and just saying, 'Hey, play ball.' They’re bringing different blitzes and different blitz zones behind it. So, it’s great work for us to see the coverage, see where blitzes are at and for us guys up front to block it."

It's only been a week, so we have plenty more practices to dissect. But it's been a fast start to Maye's third summer as a pro and it gives the Patriots hope about what the quarterback's ceiling could end up being in 2026.

"I think just the unlocked potential that we could even take more steps forward," Maye said about what he's learned about the offense after one week. "I think we’re just figuring things out, figuring out how coach liked the game plan, figuring out how he liked to do things last year. I think we have some work to expand the offense and do some different things and put even more pressure on the defense than we did last year."

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!

Add us as a preferred source on Google