Josh McDaniels defends Drake Maye as ‘right guy’ for Patriots

Drake Maye entered the 2025 season because the anticipated franchise savior for a Patriots workforce in determined want of a bounce-back marketing campaign. 

It took only one recreation for a few of that optimism to dissipate, with Maye and the Patriots’ offense laboring throughout New England’s Week 1 loss to the Raiders. 

Maye seemed the a part of a possible franchise QB within the first half of New England’s recreation in opposition to Las Vegas, with the second-year sign caller finishing 14 of his 20 throws for 150 yards and a landing.

However, Maye opened the second half by throwing an interception that ultimately resulted in a Raiders landing on the following drive.

After that momentum swing, Maye and New England’s offense couldn’t settle into any type of groove, with the Patriots punting on their subsequent 4 drives as their hopes for a late rally have been snuffed out.

Maye’s struggles down the stretch have raised considerations about his “timid” play — as described by Rob Gronkowski — in addition to questions from the media about whether or not there is too much on Maye’s plate in terms of studying the ins and outs of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ intricate offensive system. 

However, talking Thursday at Gillette Stadium, McDaniels defended his QB amid the rising criticism whereas pushing again in opposition to the assertion that the Patriots’ teaching employees has needed to curtail simply how a lot data it was feeding Maye so far as the playbook. 

“No. We haven’t given him any greater than what we’ve given him all yr, which isn’t an excessive amount of,” McDaniels mentioned Thursday of the discourse concerning how a lot data the workforce was placing on Maye’s “plate” out of the gate this season.

Even with Maye’s lapses within the second half on Sunday, McDaniels chalked up these struggles because the anticipated studying curves and rising pains that include a younger QB within the NFL — particularly one studying a brand new offense after Alex Van Pelt put in extra of a West-Coast system in 2024. 

“We’ve got to know it’s his first recreation in our system,” McDaniels mentioned. “I’m centered actually on the method of him getting higher on daily basis. As a result of I believe the view of it’s, it’s bought to be a long-term imaginative and prescient of the place this man is gonna be. He’s gonna be a very good participant.”

“The largest problem for me is, he’s a younger quarterback and he’s studying via all these experiences. He’s the precise man, so we’re going to have a chance to proceed to develop and enhance and get higher. I believe [I’d] can be actually leaping forward and leaping the gun if I attempted to sit down right here and pinpoint one or two issues. We work on a whole lot of issues to attempt to get higher on daily basis, and he’s gonna enhance.”

The Patriots will look to implement a extra well-rounded strategy to their offense in Week 2 in opposition to the Dolphins, as Maye was pressured to throw the ball 46 complete instances throughout that loss to the Raiders. 

An emphasis on the run recreation — particularly with some gifted backs obtainable between TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson — would put among the strain off of Maye as he tries to seek out his footing below heart this season.

However, past any changes or tweaks to New England’s offensive gameplan, McDaniels burdened that a very powerful factor for Maye shifting ahead is simply logging extra snaps on the NFL stage.

“I’m [taking] the worldwide view with him as quarterback,” McDaniels mentioned. “Quarterback is a very troublesome place to play. There are 1,000,000 belongings you do on daily basis between each play.

“Every kind of issues: pocket motion, play-faking, dealing with pressures, seeing defenses. There can’t be one or two issues. I’ll by no means boil it right down to that, as a result of it will be doing them a disservice. We’ve got a whole lot of work that should get finished on daily basis.”

 

Conor Ryan is a employees author masking the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Purple Sox for Boston.com, a job he has held since 2023.