Drake Maye still developing in new offense as Patriots minicamp kicks off

Drake Maye isn't exactly chucking four interceptions out there, but he's still in a learning phase as the Patriots implement Josh McDaniels' offense.

There was one play during a competitive 11-on-11 red zone period that Maye appeared to show head coach Mike Vrabel that he still has room for improvement in terms of running the offense. Vrabel appeared to be dissatisfied with the way the offense ran the huddle, and had a somewhat animated conversation with Maye after the play, an incomplete attempt toward the end zone. Vrabel looked to be discussing the finer points of surveying the field and reading the full defense.

It was ultimately a minor blip for Maye, who finished 14-of-18 passing in competitive team drills. One of his red zone incompletions was a tight-window pass to Kendrick Bourne, who couldn't get his feet down in bounds. Maye showed consistent accuracy to all levels of the field, which is something we're watching closely with the second-year quarterback, who was more erratic in the OTA practices we got to see.

Backup QB Joshua Dobbs had a strong day as well, most notably completing the biggest play of the day with a deep drop in the bucket to rookie receiver Kyle Williams, who gained a step on safety Dell Pettus and linebacker Jack Gibbens down the middle and to the end zone for what would've been a 50-yard touchdown in a real game. But this is of course Maye's show, and he's been enjoying the challenges of reading the Patriots defense pre-snap and working through multiple reads.

"Yeah, that's football," Maye said. "You're trying to find out what the defense is doing, and the defense is trying to show you something and play something else. So, that's the NFL, and I think you're finding that. For me, just trying to play the chess match with them. They're going to try to show me something and do something different. Just not getting too much into the guessing game.

"So, it's been fun. It's a good match between our defense. They do a lot of different stuff, and that's great work for us."

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It's still very early and the Patriots are still making their basic installs of McDaniels' offense, so the one slip-up is no cause for concern. It's just worth noting that the offense was more in the 90's as opposed to 100% crisp, as they gear up for one more day of minicamp practice. But we'll take 95% over four interceptions any day.

Maye also made at least one change at the line of scrimmage during 11-on-11, calling out at the line then checking to a short pass to rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson. The right guard and right tackle broke into the open field for what would've been upfield blocks. It was a promising sign that Maye does have his moments seeing the field and making pre-snap calls, and that the offensive players are getting on the same page with each other.

It was also notable to see that McDaniels is installing plays that are designed to get the ball quickly into the hands of the backs in the passing game, which has always been one of his staples and an element that's been lacking in recent seasons. If Maye and McDaniels can marry those plays with the deep balls, which we know the quarterback is capable of executing at a high level, the new-look Patriots offense could be in line for a productive season.

We'll look to see if Maye cleaned up the things he needed to clean up during Tuesday's practice, but Monday was overall a sign of progress compared to some of the uglier practices we've seen in the spring.

"I think it's been good. I think I'm starting to find a stride," Maye said. "I'm bummed out we're about to leave, but it's fun."