Van Pelt: Maye has looked ‘really good’ in Patriots practice originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Drake Maye hasn’t started a game for the New England Patriots through three weeks, but by all accounts, the rookie quarterback is playing pretty well in practice.
Maye did make his NFL debut in the Patriots’ 24-3 loss to the Jets in Week 3. He completed four of eight pass attempts for 22 yards, while also picking up 12 yards on the ground. He made some good plays in the limited opportunity.
The best way for Maye to stay ready is taking full advantage of his practice reps. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo confirmed earlier this month that Maye is getting around 30 percent of the reps with the starting offense in practice, which is high for a backup quarterback.
Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was asked Thursday about Maye’s performance on the practice field, and he gave a positive report.
“Really good. He’s continuing to grow,” Van Pelt told reporters during his press conference. “I think the game experience the other night will only help him moving forward. The plan is in place, and I think we’re starting to see him grow on the practice field.”
NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots insider Phil Perry provided more detail during his Thursday morning appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub show Toucher and Hardy.
“What I’ve been told is he looks pretty good (in practice),” Perry said. “This is beyond what Jerod Mayo told us at the podium (Wednesday) when I asked him about it. But I went around and talked to a bunch of players yesterday, and I’ve been talking to people over the course of the last several weeks — he looks good in practice. He’s smooth. He’s going through his reads.
“Even when he’s the scout team guy, he’s not out there — one player told me yesterday, he’s not out there BS’ing around, which, I guess, happens in other cities across the league where the scout team person kind of takes it upon themselves to make the scout team stuff their show. He’s not doing that. He’s going through and playing on time and in rhythm. This is some of the stuff they want him to do whenever he plays.”
Mayo has said several times since the Jets loss last Thursday that Brissett is still the starting quarterback. But how much longer can the Patriots go without a viable passing attack?
Brissett is averaging 122.6 passing yards per game, with one touchdown and a lackluster 50.5 QBR through three weeks. In his defense, he’s not turning the ball over (zero interceptions) and is playing behind an offensively that’s struggling mightily. He was sacked five times in Week 3. Not many quarterbacks would thrive with the kind of pass protection Brissett has been getting.
But at some point, the Patriots need to see what Maye can do. He looked good in a small sample size against the Jets. He is playing well in practice. He’s had a couple weeks to get acclimated to the pro game and what kind of preparation is required.
If the offense continues to struggle throwing the football, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give him an opportunity to start some time in the near future.
