Here's How Patriots Coaches Are Challenging Drake Maye at Minicamp

FOXBORO --- Drake Maye has been under pressure to start the New England Patriots' mandatory minicamp. It might not be from the defenders he goes up against -- they've been coached not to his the quarterback -- but instead by his own coaching staff.

Something the offensive coaches are having Maye do is run up to the line of scrimmage without a play called. He's tasked with diagnosing the defense without a play in his ear, then quickly decide on a protection and playcall.

It's a task that Maye says is pushing him to his limits, both as a leader in the huddle and as a game operator under center. As he enters his third season, he's seeing the benefits of it.

"I think it's just naturally night and day from last year this time. I was trying to get things right, trying to get guys knowing where I was making calls and getting guys lined up," Maye said after the second minicamp practice. "Now we're just taking the next steps. That's the best thing about this time. You get to work on those things and also work on executing. That's the best thing Coach (Josh) McDaniels does, pushing me hard.

"He's challenging me, and just trying to get comfortable here in OTAs, and getting comfortable with just doing things, being out here and just making throws."

Jun 9, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws a pass during minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Maye's ability to be comfortable in this offense has been evident this spring. When he practices in front of reporters, it's clear that he's been able to improve his accuracy -- something already at the top of the league from a season ago -- and overall spacial awareness. His connection with his new wideouts, Romeo Doubs and AJ Brown, is growing each day.

The goal is to just avoid negative plays, something that plagued the Patriots at time during their run to the Super Bowl. Having Maye take full control of the offense is the next step in limiting those mistakes.

Drake Maye Being Tested As A Playcaller At Minicamp

"It's trying to be a play caller," Maye said. "It's tough in this environment when they’ve got 18 seconds on the clock in practice and I'm trying to do a hard count and trying to get us in a play that we like. I think it's awesome to challenge me and to push my limits of knowing the offense, knowing what play looks good against what the defense has up. The best thing that we've been trying to focus on is limiting negative plays.

"Negative plays in this league put you behind the chains, whether it's in the red zone, in base downs, and just trying to stay ahead of the chains and knowing that it's really on me to put us in good plays, get us out of bad plays and, stay ahead of the chains."

His quarterbacks coach has seen the improvement, both on the field and in the classroom. Maye's becoming a vocal leader off the field, butting in on offensive meetings to offer his input. It's part of the maturation process of becoming a true franchise quarterback.

Maye's Coaches See The Growth

"Year 1 when you’re in a system, it’s all about learning what to do, and how do you fit in the system, and as you continue to grow through the system, it’s how do I operate this at a high level," Ashton Grant said. "So I think we’re trying to weaponize Drake’s mind, and all the quarterback’s minds as opposed to just being throwers of the football, we want to be operators of the offense."

So while the coaching staff challenges Maye with an expedited huddle, he hopes to use that as part of an all-encompassing jump in daily improvement.

"I'm just focused day-to-day and really not trying to pinpoint an area," he said. "I'm trying to get better in all areas. I think it's hard to pinpoint that. I think one thing is just making the right decision in the first few seconds I have the ball in my hand."

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