Pats Pulpit
The latest edition of our Patriots mailbag answers questions about Drake Maye, the young receivers, and more.
As the offseason rolls on, the New England Patriots have wrapped up their first week of OTAs which included a session open to the media on Tuesday.
So let’s talk about it all and get right into this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.
Saw drake maye threw four interceptions at practice the other day. Should there be any concern with that at this point on the calendar? - Mike W.
Short story: no. It’s one practice during the first week of OTAs where a young quarterback is learning a new offense. Media was also not on hand Monday or Thursday where Maye could have dominated for all we know.
Also, all interceptions are not the same which was seen during that one period. One of Maye’s picks was just a better play by Christian Gonzalez and one was a tipped ball where Maye and intended target Hunter Henry were signaling for defensive pass interference.
But if you take a step back, it’s worth monitoring to see if the struggles continue in the future for two reasons.
First off, turnovers were the main issue for Maye last season. Besides fumbling nine times and losing six, Maye tossed 10 interceptions in 12 starts. That helped result in 16 turnover worthy plays and a 3.5 percent turnover worthy play rate, which both ranked in the top half of all qualified quarterbacks. Protecting the football is key for Maye in year two and Tuesday’s session looked more like last season.
Secondly, this could be a sign of the expected learning curve that comes when learning Josh McDaniels’ offense. Instead of hitting the ground running with a similar offense in year two, the language and responsibilities for Maye pre-snap are completely different. That’s one of the risks when it comes to changing offenses on a young quarterback (and Maye now has four coordinators in his last four years dating back to college).
We will also reiterate that it was just one OTA practice in the first week of practices (and the only one open to media). Maye also started last year slow and ended strong making a push for the starting job, so we’ll see how things look at training camp when Maye has more on field experience in the system.
Plus, it’s fair to point out that Maye already rebounded nicely on Tuesday and ended the competitive periods with three perfectly placed and timed throws — ending with a back shoulder ball to Javon Baker down the right sideline working against Christian Gonzalez.
I know some receivers were out of practcie so how did the rookie receivers look? - MM12
Third-round pick Kyle Williams and UDFA Efton Chism III were impressive on Tuesday. Starting with Williams, the top rookie hauled in just one catch and was a target on one of Maye’s interceptions. While the numbers do not pop off the screen, Williams’ speed and ability to get...
