Alex Van Pelt gives latest update on Drake Maye’s practice performance
On Thursday New England Patriots coordinator Alex Van Pelt discussed Drake Maye’s progress in practice.
Last week New England Patriots fans got to see rookie quarterback Drake Maye in action for the first time since the end of the preseason a month ago. Maye played the final drive of the Patriots’ 24-3 loss to the Jets, completing 4-of-8 passes for 22 yards and running for another 12 yards on the ground.
That may have been the first chance for fans to see the progress Maye has been making behind closed doors, but he’s still had chances to prove himself to Patriots decision-makers behind the scenes. Maye has reportedly been getting about 30 percent of the reps with the starting offense in practice since training camp ended, as well as opportunities with the second unit and running the scout team.
Unlike in training camp, regular seasons practices are mostly closed to the media. That means it’s tough to know just what kind of progress Maye is making. On Thursday though, Alex Van Pelt spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on how Maye has looked behind the scenes.
“Really good,” Van Pelt said. “He’s continuing to grow. I think the game experience the other night will help him moving forward. But, the plan is in place and I think we’re starting to see him starting to grow on the practice field as well.”
This comes after Maye received similar praise from head coach Jerod Mayo on Wednesday. “He’s looked good in practice,” Mayo told reporters. “Drake’s getting a ton of reps on the show team, and he’s approached that process the right way. He doesn’t want to know what the defense is doing. He doesn’t want to know the coverage. He’s going out there, going through his reads, and we talk about that all the time. Just because you’re on the show team doesn’t mean you can’t work on your fundamentals and your progressions, and he’s done a good job of that.”
The looming question about when Drake Maye will take over the Patriots’ starting quarterback job remains. In order to get there though Maye will need to give the coaching staff a reason to make the switch. Right now, it sounds like he’s making progress in that regard.
