
Patriots QB coach gives update on Drake Maye's progress in new offense
Patriots QB coach gives update on Drake Maye's progress in new offense
New England Patriots quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant shared an update on second-year quarterback Drake Maye's progress in the new offense.
Maye went from Alex Van Pelt as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney to Josh McDaniels and Grant. That's a major shake-up for a second-year quarterback who didn't have a ton of games at the college level.
The Patriots have gone to great lengths to ease the process by upgrading the weapons around Maye and improving the offensive line. Things started rocky early in OTAs, but Maye improved later in the spring practices.
'Drake is doing a hell of a job with a change from one offense to a new offense," Grant told media members. "He's been a pro's pro. He's been super intentional with everything we've asked him to do, so I couldn't be happier with where he is right now."
Maye finished his rookie campaign with 2,276 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. That was good enough to earn him a Pro Bowl nod in his first NFL season.
There will be added pressure on performance in his second season with all of the additions made to the Patriots' roster. His ability to grasp McDaniels' offense and implement it successfully in game situations will mean the difference between the Patriots finally getting over the hump or suffering another disappointing season.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
36 minutes ago
- USA Today
Stats suggest Elgton Jenkins in his prime: Is he right to want contract adjustment?
Stats suggest Elgton Jenkins in his prime: Is he right to want contract adjustment? Elgton Jenkins has been in the spotlight this offseason for various reasons. The Green Bay Packers' most senior offensive lineman is set to move from left guard to center in 2025, taking over for Josh Myers, who departed in free agency. Versatility has always been one of Jenkins' most valuable traits, and he is hoping to parlay the change in role into an updated contract; a situation which is yet to be resolved. But when he has been on the field, what has Jenkins brought to Green Bay? Here is what the stats say about his overall profile since returning from an ACL injury in 2022, mostly playing at left guard: Strengths According to advanced numbers, Jenkins has been one of the most consistently effective pass blockers in the NFL over the last three years. Among qualified guards, he ranks in the 80th percentile in PFF's pass block efficiency (EFF) metric. Even in true pass sets, which are plays without screens, short passes or play action, and are generally more taxing on offensive linemen, Jenkins has excelled, landing in the 70th percentile in EFF compared to his contemporaries. Jenkins ranks in the 75th percentile for sacks allowed per opportunity (SK/OPP), which removes plays involving spikes or penalties. He has allowed just one sack in the last two seasons. Keeping the quarterback clean is the most crucial part of an offensive lineman's job, but allowing them to feel comfortable is also vitally important, and Jenkins has been stingy when it comes to giving up even low quality pressures. He ranks in the 67th percentile in hurries per opportunity (HUR/OPP) since 2022, and allowed less than one hurry per game in 2024. Jenkins has simply been one of the best interior offensive linemen in the NFL when it comes to protecting the quarterback. Weaknesses At least according to the metrics available, Jenkins has no significant weaknesses to his game, which is a huge compliment to his overall ability and consistency. Of the 11 statistics used to build his profile, Jenkins only ranked below average in two of them (more on those later), and neither reached the point of being a legitimate weakness over the last three years as a whole. He is one of the more reliable offensive linemen around. Trending up Even as he approaches age 30, Jenkins has continued to develop his game in recent seasons, improving in a variety of areas, and much of this is likely related to him becoming further removed from the serious knee injury he suffered in 2021. In true pass sets, he went from the 25th percentile in SK/OPP in 2022 to the 86th percentile over the last two years. Jenkins also improved his ranking in HUR/OPP in true pass sets from the 48th percentile in 2023 to the 75th a season ago. He was a stronger pass blocker in 2024 than the previous year by almost every statistical measure. In fact, he was ranked as the best pass blocking guard in the NFL by PFF last season. The Packers incorporated more gap concepts into their run game in 2024, and Jenkins rose to the challenge. After ranking in the 45th percentile in PFF's gap run block grade in 2023, he improved to the 82nd percentile, helping to open holes for Josh Jacobs. Trending down The only two statistics in which Jenkins ranks below average over the last two years are the same ones he has seemingly regressed since 2022. Committing penalties is the weakest part of Jenkins' game, as he ranks in the 36th percentile in penalties per snap over the last three seasons. He graded out in the 58th percentile in 2022; above average, before dropping to the 39th percentile in 2023 and the 11th percentile in 2024. He was flagged ten times last year, which is the highest number since his rookie year and more than his total for 2023 and 2024 combined (nine). Penalties are relatively overrated as a means of evaluating the quality of a player, but they can be massively frustrating and have a real impact on the outcome of a game. Discipline might be something Jenkins needs to work on in 2025 and beyond. This may coincide with the change in emphasis in Green Bay's run game, but Jenkins has actually declined as a zone run blocker since 2022, at least according to PFF's grading. Jenkins ranked in the 82nd percentile in their zone block grade in 2022, which is excellent, but fell to the 40th percentile the following year, and the 10th percentile in 2024, ranking 70th of 78 qualified guards. It will be interesting to see how the transition to center impacts Jenkins' game, but Jenkins appears to be firmly in the prime of his career, and it is understandable he wants an amendment to the contract he signed back in 2022, whether the Packers are willing to oblige is another question.


USA Today
36 minutes ago
- USA Today
Matthew Golden: Looking at first-round WR history between 2002 and 2024
Matthew Golden: Looking at first-round WR history between 2002 and 2024 The Green Bay Packers ended a two-decade drought when they took wide receiver Matthew Golden in the first round of the 2025 draft. Golden, the 23rd overall pick, became the Packers' first first-round pick at receiver since Javon Walker in 2002. While the Packers have mostly avoided first-round receivers since the turn of the century, the rest of the NFL has not. Between 2002 and 2024, 94 wide receivers were picked in the first round. Here are some quick and interesting things to know from the first-round receivers drafted between 2002 and 2024: -- By total receiving yards, the top six first-round rookie receivers were all from LSU: Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Odell Beckham Jr., Brian Thomas, Malik Nabers and Michael Clayton. LSU, Alabama and Ohio State have each had eight receivers picked in the first round since 2002, but in terms of top output, LSU is clearly WRU. Golden is just the third receiver from Texas drafted in the first round since 2002 (Roy Williams, Xavier Worthy). -- The history at No. 23 overall isn't bad. In fact, it's fairly encouraging for instant impact -- with one outlier. Thomas and Jordan Addison both caught 10 touchdown passes as rookies, while Dwyane Bowe had 995 receiving yards. The one disaster at No. 23 was Laquon Treadwell, who had only 15 receiving yards as a rookie and is one of just six first-round picks at receiver since 2002 to had fewer than 100 receiving yards as a first-year player. -- Top production is fairly rare. Only 13 of 94 first-round picks at receiver produced 1,000 or more receiving yards as rookies. And only 18 of the 94 averaged at least 9.0 yards per target. Golden didn't even crack 1,000 yards over 16 games during his final collegiate season. -- Walker, the 20th pick in 2002, had 319 yards during his rookie season in Green Bay in 2002. Overall, 19 first-round picks at receiver had under 300 receiving yards as rookies between 2002 and 2024. -- Only three players picked No. 20 or later (Jefferson, Thomas, Kelvin Benjamin) produced over 1,000 receiving yards as rookies. -- The range of outcomes is immense: Nabers received 170 targets over 17 games as a rookie last year; A.J. Jenkins got just one over three games in 2012. -- Inconsistency and inefficiency are quite possible. Over a third of the 94 first-rounders averaged 7.0 yards per target or less. -- Instant impact is becoming more and more common. Last year, six of the seven first-round receivers saw at least 80 targets. The only exception was Ricky Pearsall, who missed time and only started four games. Golden is entering a fascinating situation as a rookie in Green Bay. Opportunities will be available, but with Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Tucker Kraft all returning, it's unlikely Golden will be a top target unless he's a difference-making player right away. And the Packers are going to make Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs a focal point on offense once again. It's possible the best-case scenario for Golden as a rookie is that he's an efficient big-play creator who makes the most of his opportunities from Jordan Love. Past examples of hyper-efficient first-round receivers include Lee Evans, who turned 74 targets into 843 yards; Hakeem Nicks, who turned 74 targets into 790 yards; Anthony Gonzalez, who turned 51 targets into 576 yards; and Henry Ruggs, who turned 43 targets into 452 yards. Is Golden one of the rare elite rookies who can instantly be a game-changer? Early returns from Green Bay are encouraging, but it's obviously early. More than likely, Golden will need time to develop behind more experienced options in a diverse passing game and will have average (but preferably efficient) production as a first-year player.


USA Today
36 minutes ago
- USA Today
Numbers show different side to Vikings' Byron Murphy Jr.'s 2024 Pro Bowl season
Numbers show different side to Vikings' Byron Murphy Jr.'s 2024 Pro Bowl season Byron Murphy Jr. had a Pro Bowl season and led the Vikings in a variety of statistics, including interceptions. At one point in the season, he went as far as to tell the media that he wanted to secure an interception in every game last season. While that didn't happen, the numbers show that he had every chance because of the number of times he was targeted. PFF recently published a piece showing the most targeted cornerbacks by situation. Byron Murphy Jr. was one of the leaders in several situations. When he was lined up in the slot, he was targeted 60 times on 267 coverage snaps, while in late down situations, he was targeted 44 times in 207 coverage snaps. He allowed a combined completion percentage of 66.5% on those snaps. Could it be because he was going for the ball? The point is that teams feel they can still test him, for whatever reason. In 2025, if they decide to do that again, they could be burned again, potentially with six interceptions.