Patriots' Josh McDaniels Shares First Special Drake Maye Moment

The New England Patriots' fortunes have been turned on their head in the matter of just months since hiring Mike Vrabel and seeing quarterback, Drake Maye, explode into one of the top signal callers in the National Football League.

Maye has lead the team to an 11-2 record that's seen them remain unbeaten since September while currently riding a 10-game win streak as he remains behind perhaps only the Los Angeles Rams' Matt Stafford in the running for Most Valuable Player.

Dec 1, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) passes the ball during the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Part of his development boost will no doubt be attributed to both Vrabel and head coach, Josh McDaniels, who has historically always found a way to get the very best out of his QBs and the offense as a whole.

And speaking with ESPN's Peter Schrager on his podcast, "The Schrager Hour", McDaniel spoke about the first time that he truly saw something with the former UNC QB this past training camp.

Josh McDaniels was my guest on this week's "The Schrager Hour".

Forty minutes. We cover everything.

Full episode:
📺: https://t.co/SQM3Pe69Kz
🎧: https://t.co/4skgB6rSz8

Here he is on his QB1, Drake Maye. @OmahaProd @ESPNNFL @Patriots @bhoyer7 pic.twitter.com/alEhx9G73p
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) December 10, 2025

Josh McDaniels Details Miraculous Training Camp Throw That Opened His Eyes

"There was one in training camp," McDaniel said on the podcast, in response to Schrager asking if there were any moments over the past few months prior to the regular season that made him realize that Maye was no ordinary starting QB, "where there was a broken play and he scrambled to his right and he was literally almost out of bounds, and it was just a couple feet from the sideline.

"I didn' know if he was going to run out of bounds [or] throw it away. And he threw it and it had to be 60-something yards, and [Demario] Pop [Douglas]'s running down the sideline and I'm like, 'There's no way he can get the ball to this guy' - and it literally landed like this," as McDaniels outstretched his hands to indicate the ball falling into the breadbasket.

"I kinda looked around like, 'Did anyone else see that', cause that was nuts."

However, McDaniels stressed towards the end of the clip that despite Maye's considerable gifts, he does not want his physical talent to overshadow his other impressive qualities, both on the field with pre-snap decision making, and off the field as a leader in the locker room and of the offense in its totality.

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