Pats Pulpit
McDaniels will be tasked with developing Patriots QB Drake Maye.
The most important asset any NFL team can have in this day and age is a capable starting quarterback. Based on his 2024 rookie season, it appears that Drake Maye can become just that for the New England Patriots.
In order to get there, however, he will need to be developed properly. That job is now the responsibility of Josh McDaniels, who was hired as the Patriots’ next offensive coordinator on Tuesday.
McDaniels, who has held that title twice before for a combined 13 seasons, is one of the most experienced and successful OCs in the NFL. He also has worked with several quarterbacks who have performed at a starter-caliber level during their careers — from the greatest of all time, Tom Brady, to the likes of Jimmy Garoppolo, Cam Newton and Mac Jones.
Now, his focus will be on adding Drake Maye to that list and helping him become the face of the franchise he was drafted to be. How will McDaniels do that, though? He gave an answer to that question during an appearance on Julian Edelman’s Games With Names podcast last summer.
While talking about developing rookie quarterbacks in general, a lot of what was said will likely be applied to Maye and fellow Patriots QB Joe Milton in 2025 and beyond.
“You have to have a plan, and that obviously starts from the head coach and his perspective. You have to be able to agree on how you’re going to kind of unveil that thing to the player, and ultimately bring him along,” McDaniels explained. “At the end of the day, you have to take the player where he’s at when he comes in. Whether that was [Matt] Cassel, or [Jimmy] Garoppolo, or [Jarrett] Stidham, or [Jacoby] Brissett, or Mac [Jones], Aidan O’Connell — you have to take the player where he’s at.
“They’re all at different spots. They all have been taught different things. They have all digested different amounts of information. Some have played in different systems than yours. Some have maybe played in some that are a little more like yours. You just have to figure out, ‘Alright, what do they know and what am I going to try to push forward to get him to progress the quickest?”
As part of his answer, McDaniels laid out a potential timeline for how to bring a quarterback up to speed — starting with a focus on cadence, play calls and footwork during organized team activities in the spring, and later progressing to seeing coverages, understanding defenses and setting protections in training camp. From that point on, the attention will then shift toward other areas such as the red zone, third downs and two-minute offense.
“ There are a lot of things that go into it, but I think it’s just having a really good feel for where the player is at. You can’t just keep throwing stuff at him,” McDaniels said.
“I always talk...
