Why Patriots Coaches Clearly Trust Drake Maye More This Spring

The third-year quarterback has earned the respect of his teammates and coaches to open up the year.

Jun 9, 2025; 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

Drake Maye is certainly not Tom Brady, and he has ways to go to even coming close to the New England Patriots Hall of Famer. But every so often, the third-year quarterback will sit down with his coaches and break out the old Brady film.

What are they looking for? A lot of the traits they want to instill in Maye. Quick decision. Smart calls. Accuracy.

It helps that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels -- who won three Super Bowls with Brady as his OC -- is still around. The experience is there for the coaching staff, and after a successful season i 2025, the experience has begun to blossom for Maye.

During mandatory minicamp, the Patriots have started to give their 23-year-old captain a lot more freedom under center. They're trusting him plenty, and it'e evident in how he's looked this spring.

"We’re watching a lot of Brady film nowadays and just seeing things he would get to (calling the play) and the reasons why," quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant said. "It’s very neat when Josh speaks about something and pulls out a clip from 2008 vs. Rex Ryan’s defense and is trying to show how it applied then, and how we can apply it now and things we can take advantage now.

"A lot of the tools have been here, but it’s application may not have shown up last year, so we’re just trying to refresh Drake’s memory on when to use it, or just educate him on why and when he shouldn’t."

"We're Watching A Lot Of Brady Film"

Jun 10, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) speaks to the media after minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

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Maye has looked the part, and is passing the test with flying colors right now. He's still looking for his first Super Bowl title and MVP award, the ones that Brady already posses. Part of what the coaching staff wants to instill in Maye isn't just the abilities that the greatest of all time had. It's the knowledge -- and confidence -- that Brady exuded when he was throwing the ball.

“It would be hard to pinpoint one thing. He’s arguably the greatest quarterback to play the game,” Grant said, “but the thing that stands out to me is just the conviction in which (Brady) operated the system.

For Maye, he's starting to gain that knowledge. The coaching staff is sending him into the huddle without a play call, only to have him get to the line and decide what's going to be called. Based on the defensive front or any coverage markers, the Patriots have given Maye the canvas to paint on.

It took a long time for Brady to earn that trust from the coaching staff, but throughout his career, he was the true sole operator of the offense. The goal is to have Maye become the same.

"It seemed as if anything the defense presented to him, he had the answer at the tip of his tongue," Grant said. "It didn’t seem like there was a lot of hesitation or confusion. He would call the play, break the huddle, see what the defense was presenting, and if it was something he liked, he’d put his foot on the gas and snap the ball. And if it was something he didn’t, he changed it and usually got to a good answer."

Nov 11, 2006; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback (12) Tom Brady during the 3rd quarter against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. Jets came away with the win 17 - 14. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images Copyright © David Butler II | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Drake Maye Learning From Tom Brady

To open up the spring, Maye has found an early connection with new wideout A.J. Brown. The star pass catcher has already helped form some chemistry on the field, similar to how quickly both Brady and Hall of Famer Randy Moss got on the same page in 2007.

The start to Maye's career has been wonky. From starting on the bench as a rookie in 2024 to leading his team to the Super Bowl a year later, Maye hasn't had the smoothest path to where he is now. Fast forward from his rookie season to today, and the face of the franchise is stacking days at a rapid pace.

"Year one when you’re in a system, it’s all about learning what to do, and how do you fit in the system," Grant said. "As you continue to grow through the system, it’s how do I operate this at a high level. 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."

Maye has taken the coaching head on. He knows what he needs to get better at this season, and has earned the trust of his coaches to do so.

"The best thing that we’ve been trying to focus on is limiting negative plays," Maye said. "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."

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