Patriots OC Josh McDaniels makes feelings known on Drake Maye's ability to process mistakes

The media was present during the New England Patriots' team practices Monday. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and a few of the other assistant coaches discussed the team's overall performance with the media prior to practice, focusing on the offense's development, the playbook and quarterback Drake Maye's development.

Maye had a mixed rookie season after being selected out of North Carolina with the third pick in last year's draft. Although the 22-year-old quarterback seemed to have trouble with passes in the Pats' first two open sessions, Josh McDaniels doesn't seem to be concerned.

McDaniels clarified that he would rather watch Maye make mistakes during practice rather than during games. He also mentioned that the quarterback's intangibles have impressed him:

"Sometimes, as a coach, nobody wants to hear this, but sometimes as a coach, the negative results can actually be your best teachers, because you have a play where something didn’t necessarily go your way or the right way, and then you learn from it.

“And then the biggest key for us as we go forward is when we learn from a mistake. Can we go out there the next day and not repeat the same error? And so I think he’s doing a really good job of digesting the information, processing the corrections when there is a correction to be made, and then going out there with a great attitude, mindset the next day."

Maye's performance in practice improved significantly after McDaniels' media appearance; in competitive team drills, he completed 14 of his 16 throws against the Patriots defense.

Maye recorded a 66% pass completion rate during drills in five open practices last year. He had only completed 61% of his 33 passes in two open workouts prior to Monday's practice. His completion rate in open sessions this offseason has increased to 69%.

Drake Maye poised for a better second season in the league under head coach Mike Vrabel

Drake Maye didn't have dependable offensive weapons to help share the load consistently in his debut season in 2024. Also, his development was stunted as he was unable to obtain early game experience because former head coach Jerod Mayo started Jacoby Brissett over him for the first several weeks of the season.

However, the quarterback showed his dual-threat ability throughout his rookie season.

With Mike Vrabel in charge of the Patriots, expect Maye to make an immediate leap. He will have even more room to thrive in 2025 with the team making upgrades to the offensive line and receiving group, which are key components of the offense around the quarterback.