New England Patriots
Maye connected with Brown numerous times during Friday’s practice.
Drake Maye and A.J. Brown continue to build their chemistry together. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Drake Maye, A.J. Brown heat up and other takeaways from Day 6 of Patriots training camp
FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots were running two on two drills with a redzone set-up that featured a quarterback, two receivers, and a pair of running backs to cover the wideouts.
A.J. Brown was matched up with Craig Woodson. The veteran receiver burst off the line, hit the young safety with a stutter step forcing Woodson to stumble just enough to create a window for Drake Maye to drop the ball in.
Maye’s throw hit Brown in stride in the back corner of the end zone, not too far away from the pylon.
Plays like that have been more frequent over the last two days of minicamp since the Patriots have put pads on, and they show that Brown and Maye are finding some rhythm as camp goes on.
But, there’s also value in the little moments, such as a chat off to the side after a play, as the duo attempts to build a connection. It’s Brown’s job to separate from defenders and get open. It’s Maye’s job to recognize that and deliver the ball where it needs to be. The more they are on the same page, the better.
“I think just trying to get a feel for what he is seeing, what I am seeing, what he is feeling out there when he is running routes in coverage,” Maye said. “We got some great competition. Him and Gonzo (Christian Gonzalez) are going back and forth and going at it.”
“So, it is great for us to talk and pull up some old things that he has run and how he liked to run them and what he liked to do, and the routes for his different looks. So, it is just trying to feel the connectivity building now. I think that is the biggest thing with a player like him and a lot of players that we have.”
New England is six practices into training camp. The first three were pretty quiet for Brown. The fourth was a walkthrough. The fifth was a breakthrough, with Maye hitting Brown for completions on four out of five targets.
Maye was sharp yet again on Friday, completing all but one of his passes during team drills. He has been aggressive about getting Brown involved from the beginning of camp, and the reps appear to be paying off.
“Just giving more chances to him,” Maye said. “I think you see with the ball in his hands what he can do, so just finding more chances, intermediate, short, deep, just not shying away from it –I am not going to shy away from him.”
“That is how I play. I am going to keep going at it, and it could be the fifth play in a row I am going to give him the rock.”
Receivers want to know that they’ll get the ball. Staying in touch with the quarterback doesn’t hurt either.
“I think just being in a constant conversation— that is the best thing about it,” Maye said. “Him seeing something and texting me it or – kind of the whole skill room.”
“I love doing big meetings with everybody and Coach McDaniels does a great job of explaining the little things and why we do them, and those guys are starting to understand more and more why we do the little things and how they work.”
Over the weekend, Maye said he tried to start camp off with a bang by targeting Brown with a throw while Christian Gonzalez was on him. The third-year quarterback said he loves to compete against great players such as Gonzalez.
It took several practices, but Maye and Brown seemed to have found something over the last two. They know they’ll face tight coverages this season. Now is the time to prepare for them.
“You try to find a rhythm and try to find— I feel like being accurate is one of the number one things of playing quarterback and putting the ball in the right spot and giving our guys chances,” Maye said. “That is what I’m doing and our guys are making plays and— I think the biggest thing for us is to stay positive plays, and includes run game, passing game.”
“For me, it is getting started early. It’s like when I used to play basketball and used to come out and try to shoot a three, get a layup, get to the free throw line, and then—but at the same time, I love taking a shot early, so trying to balance that.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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