FOXBOROUGH – Drake Maye’s eyes moved back and fourth between the screen in front of him and the Patriots’ pass catchers gathered in the receivers’ meeting room watching.
With a clicker in his hand, he’d pause the tape at a precise moment and explain what he saw.
Then, much like a coach, he described exactly what he wanted his pass catcher to do. Maybe it was the depth of the route run or the spacing between the players. The message was simple: If you want the ball, you need to be in a certain spot on the field. We need to be on the same page.
The message hit home as it has all year this Patriots season.
Every Saturday, Maye runs his own meeting with his receivers and tight ends. They go over film from the practice, and Maye explains what he sees and what his teammates need to do to get the ball.
After an uneven/up and down rookie year, Maye approached his coaches. He wanted to be a better leader. Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels suggested these Saturday sessions.
“When we got here in the spring, he was looking for ways that he can grow upon his leadership skills and responsibilities,” Patriots quarterback coach Ashton Grant said. “That was an idea that coach Vrabel and Josh brought up to him as a way he can help us push the offense forward. He jumped at the bit to be able to do it, and it’s helped us.”
Vrabel wanted him to use his voice to let his teammates know what he’s seeing. It’s one thing to be loud in the huddle on the field; it’s another to direct your teammates in a room without coaches around.
As the starting quarterback, Maye is already expected to be a leader. This offseason, Vrabel challenged him to do more. The Saturday player-only meetings offered a chance for Maye to do just that.
“You have to say things that get players’ attention,” Vrabel said of Maye. “It’s just about getting a feel for each person that you’re trying to get a message across to or try to be able to connect with to help them do their job better.”
Players say that these meetings have contributed to a difference in this remarkable Patriots season. The team hopes it helps them in Sunday’s wild-card matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
What happens in these meetings?
When the Patriots first practiced, Mack Hollins had no problem voicing his opinion. The veteran receiver already knew McDaniels’ system from playing for the coach in Las Vegas, so he had his preferences.
Hollins then let Maye and the coaching staff know. During OTAs, Hollins would yell out, ‘‘Throw the backside in-cut! Throw the backside in-cut!’
While abrasive, Hollins had a point. He ran the route the right way and often got open. It’s why he put up career-high numbers with McDaniels in 2022. When the season started, the Patriots’ coaches weren’t surprised that Hollins became a top target for Maye.
The quarterback explained why in these film sessions.
“By him and Drake building that trust and communication, Drake showed that he throws it often to Mack because Mack runs the route a certain way,” Grant said. “So, then he tells the other receivers, ‘Hey, if you want the ball this way, then this is how it should be run.’ By him voicing his opinions, I think it holds a little bit, I wouldn’t say more weight, but it strokes a different chord with those guys.”
One purpose of the meetings is to get everyone on the same page the day before the game. Maye goes over three days of practice film, and the message differs weekly. The different pass catchers take different lessons.
“It helps us stay on the same page and see what he sees in practice,” receiver DeMario Douglas added. “He tells us what he sees. I feel like it’s a good way to see how the quarterback sees it. We run a route how he sees it and what best fits him.”
Douglas said if a play didn’t work in practice, Maye critiques it and explains from his vantage point why they didn’t connect. Kayshon Boutte pointed to an instance the quarterback thought the route spacing could’ve been better, and that’s why it wasn’t as successful during the week.
If the play worked, Maye explains what he liked from the pass catcher in that rep. There were moments this season where he liked a play so much, he wanted to reinforce the coaching points to make sure they’d hit the pass the next day.
“It’s tips and reminders about how you ran this certain type of a route,” tight end Austin Hooper said. “Like, ‘Hey, be ready if you see this certain type of look. It’s coming.’ Stuff like that.”
Maye also emphasized timing. If it’s off, that could stymie a drive at a pivotal moment. There’s no detail too small, and the Patriots receivers said they appreciate Maye’s candor.
Chism said Maye goes over “everything” in these get-togethers.
“Route depth. Stem. The way he wants it at the top. What he’s looking for,” Chism said. “He’s a great quarterback and a great guy. He’s always being super nitpicky, making sure we know how he wants it.”
“You get a lot (of information),” receiver Kyle Williams added. “And you’re like, ‘Alright, I want to run it this way’ or ‘If I see the safety, we might have to run it like this.’ I think it’s what he says to everybody that sticks with me. If he’s speaking to one person, he’s speaking to all.”
Maye’s message holds weight
Chism was in the receiver’s meeting room, going over film from that week’s practice. He was by himself when the door opened, and Maye walked in and took a seat.
The Patriots quarterback noticed Chism not running a route the way he preferred. When he stepped inside the room, he took the remote and pulled up clips to show Chism exactly what he wanted.
“He came in there and talked to me for 10-15 minutes on a certain route,” Chism said. “It’s been super helpful for me just kind of seeing what he wants, not just from me, but all the guys. They’re taking a lot of reps and running a lot of routes. I’m just trying to take as many mental reps as I can. When he’s telling them certain things, I get to make sure I take note of that and know he wants it run a certain way.”
Maye’s standing on the team gives his message weight. It’s also led to him connecting with each of his pass catchers. That connection translates to the field where he efficiently spreads the ball among them.
Five different players have lead the team in receiving yards in a game.
That’s by design. It’s up to Maye to go through his on-field progressions and throw to the open player. In McDaniels’ system, pass catchers need to be precise in where they run on the field. If Maye looks and they’re not where they’re supposed to be, he goes to the next player.
That’s why these Saturday meetings have been so beneficial. It also helps that Maye is the one delivering the message.
“It’s important because that’s usually a meeting that the coaches aren’t in,” receivers coach Todd Downing said. “The quarterback gets the opportunity to say, ‘I know what you’re being told, but I need you here. I know what you’re being told, but if you’re late on this, you’re not getting the football.’ There’s more power in the quarterback saying, ‘You’re not getting the ball’ or ‘If you do it this way, you’re getting the ball’ than I can drill, coach, or teach. That’s what I think it’s so critical.”
Maye threw touchdown passes to 10 different players this season. The Patriots had five players finish with over 440 yards. Stefon Diggs accomplished another 1,000-yard season. Hollins had the second-most receiving yards in his career. Hunter Henry ended with a career-high in receiving yards. Boutte caught a career-best six touchdown passes.
Five players had 100-yard receiving games: Diggs, Boutte, Douglas, Hollins, and Henry.
“It’s good to see what the quarterback sees from his perspective,” Boutte said. “At the end of the day, the offense goes as he goes. It’s being what he wants us to be when he wants us to be and see it from his perspective.”
Williams said Maye does a good job of hammering home what their coaches do during the week. He calls it the “final piece of the puzzle” before game day.
“At the end of the day, it’s only us on the field, so it’s about what he sees and what he wants to do,” Williams said. “It’s about being on the same page, being able to have the same terminology. That prepares us more for Sunday to have that connection and that chemistry.”
Maye has developed off the field
The moments on Saturday weren’t just about getting on the same page. It was about Maye growing into a leader.
He started this season as the second-youngest starting quarterback in the NFL. His physical talents were obvious, but his coaches wanted more. They wanted him to take charge – and sometimes that meant being direct when someone made a mistake.
Maye feels like he’s grown in that area.
“Being harder on them comes with learning them and them respecting our relationship together,” Maye said. “That’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned is get to know them and have some success with them, have some failure with them, and learn, ‘Hey, what are you like here? Hey, how did you feel like I threw this ball to you?’ These guys have responded to me great all year. They want the ball, obviously. Every receiver does, but they take criticism well, and they don’t take it personally.”
McDaniels saw that for decades with Tom Brady.
The legendary quarterback had no problem screaming at a receiver for running a wrong route or dropping a pass. Brady would tell that player that they weren’t going to get the ball if they played like that.
Rob Gronkowski famously said he thought Brady hated him. The quarterback was very hard on the rookie tight end in practice. Brady saw the potential and wanted Gronk to see it the same way.
Maye hasn’t gotten to that level yet.
“As I get older, I’ll probably start getting more mad when they don’t line up correctly,” Maye said. “But I think I try to know what kind of position they’re in, especially if they’re young, and we’ve got a young group for the most part.”
McDaniels noted that the quarterback is so well-liked and personable that taking his criticism is easier.
“Do I think that he’s out there, saying swear words or anything like that? No, I don’t,” McDaniels said. “But I do think he has his way of communicating what he needs and what he thinks and how he feels. None of us have to be the same. Whatever gets it done, whatever effectively communicates the message to somebody else. I think that’s what he’s learned how to do.”
The results have been remarkable.
In his second season, Maye is a Pro Bowler and in the MVP conversation. He finished the year breaking Brady’s pass completion record (72.0%). He leads the NFL in that, along with passer rating (113.5). He also finished fourth in the NFL in passing yards (4,394) and third in passing touchdowns (31).
As much as he’s developed on the field, Maye’s ability to not only lead, but teach has kept pace. Every Saturday when he sits down and picks up the remote, class is in session, and this budding superstar is the teacher.
“He’s the leader of the team. He leads in the meeting,” Hooper said. “He’s a good guy. He’s really smart. If you want the ball, you better see it the way he does.”
