New England Patriots
With a bigger, stronger, more experienced Drake Maye under center, the Patriots are in position to score plenty of points.
Drake Maye Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
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Welcome to Boston.com’s Patriots position preview series. As we count down the days heading into training camp, we’ll take a look at where the Patriots stand at each position using key stats and observations from spring workouts.
Since this is probably the most straightforward spot on the team to break down, let’s kick off the series with the quarterbacks.
Drake Maye is coming off of a career-year during which he led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl since 2018.
The words “Super Bowl” and “MVP” were thrown around in Foxborough for the first time since Tom Brady was around.
Maye finished just short of winning both, but he laid the groundwork for what has the chance to be a long and storied career in Foxborough.
The Patriots have their franchise quarterback. Now it’s time to see how far he can take them.
Players: Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito, Behren Morton
Key stats:
- Maye started every single game for the Patriots last season and played 96 percent of the snaps. His 113.5 QB rating was the league’s best.
- The Patriots averaged 250.5 passing yards per game and 28.8 points per game, finishing top-five in both categories.
- Maye threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns against eight interceptions while completing 72 percent of his passes. He was the runner-up for league MVP.
- Maye was sacked 47 times during the regular season, the fourth-most in the league
Strengths: The Patriots are positioned as well as anyone in the league at this position. The 23-year-old Maye emerged as a breakout star, showcasing his strong arm and ability to make virtually any throw on the field.
His athleticism is also a major asset. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback is big, strong, fast, tough, and unafraid to use his legs to make plays. In fact, one of the major coaching points for him last season was learning how to keep his eyes up and remain ready to pass while on the move instead of just taking off and running.
Last season, the big development in Maye’s game was his pinpoint accuracy. He led the league in completion percentage and quarterback rating. He looked extremely comfortable running Josh McDaniels’s offense and took command as a team leader during his first full season as a starter.
Weaknesses: Maye took a beating last season. He was sacked 47 times during the regular season. He was also sacked 21 times during the postseason, more than three times as many as his Seattle counterpart Sam Darnold, who was tied for second with six.
He had a pair of rookies protecting his blindside in Will Campbell and Jared Wilson, both of whom struggled in their first postseason. The Patriots’ offensive line was up-and-down as a whole last season. But, sacks are also a quarterback stat, and Maye took ownership for his part in not getting rid of the ball quickly enough.
The Patriots lack depth behind Maye, who is the only quarterback on New England’s roster who threw an NFL pass last season. DeVito has appeared in a grand total of three games since the start of the 2024 season. Morton is a rookie.
Observations from OTAs/minicamp:
- Maye arrived for offseason workouts with a noticeably stronger frame. His response to a reporter’s question about him looking “thicker” than last season generated some buzz on social media.
- On the field, Maye looks as comfortable and accurate as ever. It’s difficult to get a full picture of how things look with players working without pads, but it’s evident that Maye’s skill-set hasn’t gone anywhere.
- He does seem to have a tendency to hang throws high when he’s under pressure. Sometimes it’s pre-game jitters, others times it’s when the rush gets to him. Nothing too concerning, but something to watch.
- With a full year of experience and a deep playoff run under his belt, it’s clear that this is Maye’s team. His teammates have raved about his leadership abilities consistently.
- Coach Mike Vrabel cut the final practice of minicamp short when a defensive player collided with Maye by accident. Maye was OK, but the message was clear: Stay away from Drake, he’s too valuable for this team to lose.
2027 outlook: The sky is the limit. Maye had a real argument for deserving the MVP last season, and he appears to be in even better shape heading into this one.
This is the first time in his career that he has had the same offensive coordinator for more than one year. The Patriots hope he’ll be able to build on last year’s success as he continues to master the system.
Not to mention, the Patriots have invested in providing him a stronger supporting cast. They’ve spent back-to-back first round picks on offensive tackles.
They’re banking on Will Campbell to have a better showing than he did in the playoffs. They’ve signed Alijah Vera-Tucker, adding a veteran presence next to Campbell as Wilson switches to center. The right side of the line remains intact with Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses.
They traded for A.J. Brown, finally delivering a No. 1 receiver for Maye to throw to. They signed Romeo Doubs, adding yet another weapon to the receiver room.
The absence of Stefon Diggs will be felt – he caught 85 passes for 1,013 yards. But, with Brown in the fold and a more experienced Maye under center this Patriots offense has a chance to be one of the NFL’s most prolific this season.
The schedule will be tougher, but Maye and the Patriots appear to be better than they were a year ago.
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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