Maye is seeing more snaps in practice than a typical backup quarterback.
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has two jobs in his quarterback room: get the starter, Jacoby Brissett, ready to play in addition to help develop the No. 3 overall pick, Drake Maye.
According to Van Pelt, the unique division of work requires a “fine line.”
“For me, it’s all about the Sunday game — who’s the starter? I feel like that guy’s got to get every opportunity he can. At the same time, you want to develop and bring Drake along,” Van Pelt explained Thursday. “So, it’s a fine line of deciding what has Jacoby had 1,000 reps in, then maybe he doesn’t need this rep in practice that we can get Drake some growth there and give him that rep.
“If it’s something that’s new that’s in the system that week, it’s a new play, then obviously we’re not going to be able to get Drake that rep. So, it’s finding a fine line of what we’ve had a ton of reps in and what we feel comfortable taking away from Jacoby and giving to Drake. But both are ultimately important.”
The split has led to Maye working in behind Brissett for roughly 30 percent of the first team reps during practice — up from the usual five percent a backup quarterback would typically receive, according to Jerod Mayo.
During the extra work, Maye’s development has continued to trend in the right direction.
“Really good,” Van Pelt said about Maye’s practice performance. “He’s continuing to grow. I think the game experience the other night will only help him moving forward. But the plan’s in place, and we’re starting to see him to grow on the practice field, as well.”
In addition to the 30 percent of first team reps, Maye is seeing the usual dose of scout team reps a backup quarterback would receive. It’s there he’s made life difficult for his defensive coaches while flashing rare traits in the process.
“The thing that’s impressive with him is like when we have those scout team meetings, he wants to know every detail and understand how that quarterback operates,” linebackers coach Drew Wilkins said. “I think that he has such a good understanding of different schemes and what people are doing. For a rookie in this league, it’s like he’s been around a long time and seen a lot of offenses, seen a lot of quarterbacks.
“But as far as a guy, I think he’s unique in that way. Like, that’s not something that’s very common in the league that a guy’s that conscientious, wants to know about maybe a team’s protection rules for the [scout] team — things like that. These are rare traits.”