One day following QB Drake Maye's every move at Patriots training camp (2024)

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots knew when they drafted Drake Maye with the third overall pick that he was far from a finished product. Still just 21, he was the second-youngest quarterback drafted and a prospect who would need fine-tuning. But the potential, they thought, was so, so high.

So perhaps it’s not a surprise that Maye has had some tough moments in training camp. On Sunday, he was (at best) just OK. Monday, he completed only three passes in full-team drills, a rough performance for the rookie. A week into training camp, it’s clear that Jacoby Brissett’s grasp on the starting QB job is firm.

With all that in mind, I wanted to run back an annual training camp story by focusing my binoculars on one player for a full practice. So on Tuesday, I followed every step Maye took from the time he walked onto the practice fields outside Gillette Stadium to when he left them two hours and 57 minutes later. Here’s what we saw:

10:48 a.m. ET: Maye jogs onto the field, but not to where the rest of the quarterbacks are. He greets quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney on the far end and does some resistance-band work to prepare for practice on this hot and sunny day.

After that, he takes some snaps from guard-turned-center Atonio Mafi and throws some passes to a nearby trainer.

11:00 a.m.: Maye joins the other quarterbacks for team stretching. Unlike the rest of the quarterbacks, he wears a sleeveless undershirt that doesn’t show from under his red No. 10 jersey and has a towel attached to the front of his pants. Brissett and Joe Milton opt for long sleeves.

11:08 a.m.: It’s a slow start to Day 6 of practice for the Patriots. The offense gets together and walks through various plays at half-speed. It’s simple prep for someone like Brissett who has been in this offense before. But they’re still important reps for Maye as he gets accustomed to being under center more and going through the proper dropbacks.

After his turn under center, Maye chats with McCartney, then offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, then offensive assistant Ben McAdoo. It’s a notable departure from the previous regime. Bill Belichick liked for the offensive coordinator to also be the quarterbacks coach, so he was the sole voice for the position. Jerod Mayo is opting for an open approach with multiple voices, one that has grown in popularity around the league.

11:20 a.m.: The quarterbacks drop back from under center and throw passes into a net. The group charts who does the best in their meeting room, a way to turn an otherwise mundane drill into a fun competition. Brissett waves to hype up the crowd, getting them to cheer after each successful throw.

When the quarterbacks go a combined 8-for-8, Milton celebrates by doing a backflip.

Do a flip @Qbjayy7! pic.twitter.com/0MqY6UL7ez

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) July 30, 2024

11:28 a.m.:At first, the quarterbacks work only with the running backs, trying to perfect their handoffs. Then it’s going through plays with just the tight ends. Then just with the wide receivers.

This is where practice begins to feel a bit slow. But it’s an important time for quarterbacks to build chemistry. That takes time.

11:38 a.m.: One theme with Maye and the quarterbacks through these early practices is their focus on footwork. Now that handoffs and passes are done, they work on rollouts, faking a handoff then drifting away and throwing on the run.

This is where Maye really shines. He’s an impressive athlete who has made some of his best throws during camp while on the move.

11:43 a.m.: The most exciting part of practice is here: one-on-one pass-catching drills. Wide receivers against cornerbacks. Tight ends and running backs against linebackers and safeties. In theory, the offense should thrive. The field is wide open, and it’s a one-on-one matchup — the kind the offense would love to get in a game.

Even though it’s just one-on-one drills, Van Pelt makes the quarterbacks simulate an under-center snap and act as if there’s play action. That makes them more important reps for Maye, who was mostly in the shotgun in college and didn’t run much play action.

Maye completes 9 of 16 passes.

11:59 a.m.: After five minutes of standing next to McCartney and watching the top offense, Maye gets his first 11-on-11 reps. He hits a short pass on the first play, but the session focuses mostly on the running game. After each handoff, Maye continues to roll out in a bootleg as if he’d kept the ball. This is part of the marriage of the run and pass that offensive coaches often talk about. The actual runs should look just like play actions.

Maye’s only two completions in this drill are checkdowns.

12:07 p.m.: After a brief break, the team heads to seven-on-seven drills in the red zone. The players work out of the shotgun, and it’s clear Maye is more comfortable there. He hits Demario Douglas near the sideline and JuJu Smith-Schuster across the middle for a touchdown.

Maye then rotates with Brissett, who hits Hunter Henry in the back of the end zone. When Maye returns to the lineup, the series focuses more on the run game. Whether by design or coincidence, Maye gets a lot of work on the proper footwork of dropping back and handing the ball off.

Maye throws two passes including a touchdown to Kayshon Boutte in the flat. As Maye turns after the score, Brissett leaps on top of him, celebrating the rookie’s pass.

This is part of why the Pats signed Brissett. They think he’s good enough to be their quarterback at the start of the season but also a mentor and motivator for Maye.

12:29 p.m.: Most of the team switches to special teams work. The four quarterbacks go to a separate field. Van Pelt lines up behind an imaginary center, clearly demonstrating the footwork he’s looking for. His offense is built on timing and syncing up the run and pass. The quarterback’s footwork is so important to both. McCartney and assistant quarterbacks coach Evan Rothstein are next to Van Pelt, helping oversee the drill as the quarterbacks try to emulate the proper footwork.

12:39 p.m.: It hasn’t been the most intense practice, but the last 20 minutes are earmarked for 11-on-11 reps, a chance for Maye and the others to impress.

But the whole offense starts shakily. A miscue from the first-team group leaves Brissett yelling and Mayo so unhappy that he makes the whole offense — Maye and the backups included — run a lap.

When Maye takes over with the second team, there are issues from the start. David Andrews is absent, so Nick Leverett is the first-team center, leaving Mafi as the center for Maye. His shotgun snaps are consistently off the mark, forcing Maye to take his eyes off the field. Beyond that, the backup offensive line is getting beaten with ease, and the second-team wide receivers aren’t exactly separating.

At one point, Maye’s five-play stretch consists of two incomplete passes, a sack, a fumble on what looks to be a botched handoff and a run that’s stuffed.

All of it is bad. But it’s still worth remembering what Maye is working with: a backup guard-turned-center, bad receivers and a struggling offensive line.

12:52 p.m.: By now, Brissett has had his turn with the first-team offense, and Maye has had his with the second team. It should be on to either Milton or Bailey Zappe. But after all the struggles, the coaches keep Maye out there for another go.

He completes a sidearmed, falling-away pass to Jacob Warren on the first play, then is forced to scramble on the next.

Without tackling, it’s hard to gauge how effective his frequent scrambles are. If he becomes a Josh Allen type of runner, Maye’s athleticism can be a big-time weapon and mitigate some of the concerns on the offensive line. If not, you could argue he’s leaving the pocket too early. But since tackling the quarterback isn’t allowed, it’s hard to know yet which is the case.

1:00 p.m.: Full-team sprints across the field signal the end of practice. It isn’t the kind of bounce-back, head-turning session Maye hoped for after a rough Monday. He completed 5 of 11 passes in full-team drills Tuesday with some mishaps and sacks along the way.

But as he huddles with Van Pelt after the session, it’s worth considering the grander scheme. Maye is 21. This is his sixth training camp practice. Unlike Brissett, he’s in a new offense. Sure, he hasn’t picked things up so quickly that he’s challenging for the starting job. But the ceiling that so enticed the Patriots in April hasn’t changed.

Drake Maye with the effortless deep shot 🎯

(via @patriots)

📺: Back Together Weekend – July 27-28 on @NFLNetwork, ABC, ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/LSyH4tcHKW

— NFL (@NFL) July 24, 2024

1:13 p.m.: After practice, Maye takes off his pads but holds onto a football. He spins it on his finger like a basketball and looks for a receiver to throw to.

Belichick said last year there are never enough reps for quarterbacks. Their arms don’t tire like a baseball pitcher’s, and their work isn’t as physically exhausting as offensive linemen or other positions.

Eventually, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker emerge, a trio of rookies to whom so much of the Patriots’ hope is attached, and they run some routes together.

1:22 p.m.: The receivers head out. Their work for the day is done. Before Maye goes to take pictures and sign autographs for fans, a trainer takes his pads and helmet to the locker room. Most first-year players are tasked with bringing veterans’ gear back with them. But, hey, there are perks to being a first-round quarterback.

1:45 p.m.: Maye goes through the entire line of waiting (and often hollering) fans so each can get a photo or autograph. The whole process takes more than 20 minutes.

At one point, he is handed a Tom Brady jersey. In the moment, it’s a small thing. A kid brought an old jersey, perhaps his only one, for a signature at training camp. But it’s also a reminder of who was once here and the pressure that follows for any New England quarterback.

By the time Maye is done, the fields are empty. Everyone has gone back, eager for the off day that awaits on Wednesday. Finally alone, Maye heads down the stairs toward the locker room to get ready for another day in the NFL.

(Photos: Eric Canha / USA Today)

Chad Graff is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New England Patriots since 2022 after five years on the Minnesota Vikings beat. Graff joined The Athletic in January 2018 after covering a bit of everything for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He won the Pro Football Writers of America’s 2022 Bob Oates Award for beat writing. He's a New Hampshire native and an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of New Hampshire. Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadGraff