FOXBOROUGH - Is there too much on Drake Maye's plate? That's a question that arose in the aftermath of the Patriots' 20-13 loss to the Raiders, and Mike Vrabel didn't dismiss it.
"I think we have to evaluate that," Vrabel said back on Monday. "We have to find out, is there something there, or we’ve just got to figure out what our guys do best and do that. Because if you do that, then you have to be really good, as opposed to trying to scheme or get into the right situation.
"Again, we just make sure that we're giving him answers by trying not to give him too much. I think that's always the balance and the fine line."
Maye looked hesitant in pockets of the game against Las Vegas, and that reaction led to disrupted mechanics and inaccuracies, even on completed throws*. Maye himself shot down the notion that his head is swimming in this scheme - "No," was his immediate response, though what followed didn't exactly put the question to rest:
"I try to do whatever I can to study as much as I can, hear the play calls and study the formations before he [Josh McDaniels] calls them," Maye added. "Like I said, there's a lot of things that go into it. Being accurate, play calling, getting in and out of plays, so just trying to, like I said, get a good grip on it. The more we do that throughout the weeks and as the season goes on, the better I'll feel in this offense."
That last part is the most critical part, and probably the most difficult when looking at the early success of some of the players in his draft class (Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix in particular). That point was hammered home Thursday afternoon by the designer of this offense, McDaniels, and it started with a sharp denial that Maye is struggling with the volume of information he's getting.
"No," McDaniels said, before pausing, "No, we haven't given him anything more than what we've given him all year, which is not too much. I think we have to understand it's his first game in our system. I think we all learned a lot from each experience we've had, every practice, Washington joint practice, Minnesota, and preseason games. The little that we were able to work together, obviously, and then the first full game that we have an opportunity to go through our operation and see things for the first time, and use our rules and follow our rules.
"Thought he made a lot of good plays, thought he made a lot of good decisions. But I'm focused really on the process of him getting better every day. Because I think the view of it is, you know, it's got to be a long-term vision of where this guy's going to be."
However, they are not there yet, and considering this is Maye's second professional season and first in this offense, it was always going to take time. There's no way around that for the veteran play-caller, even if he believes in whom he's working with.
"I would say the biggest thing for me is just, you know, he's a young quarterback; he's a young quarterback," McDaniels said. "He's learning through all these experiences, and he's the right guy. And so we're going to have an opportunity to continue to grow and improve and get better."
Maye is cognizant of that as well. He is an earnest kid who wants to excel. His teammates have recognized that about him, not just this year, but the group he worked with a year ago. But this is also his first time where more is expected. Maye is a captain; he understands his value to the entire operation in a way that, because of his youth, he didn't grasp in 2024.
"We’re building,' admitted Maye. "I felt good reciting the plays, getting out of the huddle, and getting in and out of checks out there during the game. So, it felt good to get that in the game's rep, and I think it'll continue to get better between me and Coach [McDaniels]. The more we do and the more we're kind of seeing the same things and stuff we can revert back to in a game setting will always kind of help us going forward."
There is no way to fast forward the experience, the time on task, and so the interception, or the fumble, or the failure to launch - if you will - in certain situations will be a part of who Maye is in this offense...right up until the time it's not (they hope). That's not to excuse poor plays/performance by Maye. There are no free passes playing this position in the NFL, and he knows it. However, context matters even more in this situation than most, and we'll continue to do our best to put it into perspective.