New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has been stuck in the pocket. Throughout the summer, Patriots coaches have rightfully prioritized the rookie’s work in-structure during training camp practices knowing what he can do elsewhere. But with the red non-contact jersey coming off in preseason action, Maye’s playmaking abilities finally got a chance to shine.
In four drives of work Thursday night, Maye looked like he was back playing in Chapel Hill at times. While he still took six snaps under center, New England often kept Maye in the shotgun — several times in empty as well — and let him use his legs to play off script. It’s no surprise what followed was the third overall pick looking the best he has all summer.
“It’s very important to do those things. Like you said, he did it in college,” head coach Jerod Mayo said post game. “And the problem is from college to here is just the language.
Once you can start to link the language that you learned in college to the language you’re learning right now, the game becomes a little bit easier from an Xs and Os perspective. “I look forward to see how he builds off of today. But he did a lot of good things.
” In total, Maye completed six-of-11 passes for 47 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles . The night could’ve been even bigger, but a beautiful deep ball — where Maye’s pocket presence and arm talent shined — hit the turf as fellow rookie Javon Baker could not haul it in. The duo did connect on one.