Maye entered a concussion protocol after a hit on a scramble.
The New England Patriots got a first hand look at the double edge sword that comes with a mobile quarterback.
In their Week 8 victory over the New York Jets, Drake Maye’s legs were a difference maker early on. The quarterback totaled 46 yards on three scrambles, including a 17-yard touchdown to give New England a first quarter lead. But, one of those runs — a 18-yard scramble — led to the end of Maye’s day as a hit to his head resulted in the rookie being placed in concussion protocol.
While the injury has put Maye’s playing style in the spotlight, New England has no plans of diminishing one of Maye’s top strengths.
“You would hate to take that away from a player,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said on Thursday. “That’s a strength of his, his ability to move out of the pocket.”
Maye’s athleticism and playmaking gene was one of the main reasons he was a top quarterback prospect in this year’s draft. That ability has translated through his first three starts as Maye has totaled 114 yards on 13 scrambles — eight going for first downs.
As the Patriots will continue to take advantage of Maye’s athletic ability to benefit their offense, they will need the rookie to take better care of himself. Maye suffered his injury with a hit to his helmet from behind as he slid feet first, a technique they may change moving forward.
“The one thing we talked about was being safe in the slide,” Van Pelt said. “Oftentimes you get into space where you feel like you’re clean and you can go feet first — which is what we coach in open space — but again, you never know what’s coming behind. So the quarterbacks that avoid injury oftentimes will find a soft place by going head first and just getting down in that regard.
“So something we continue to work on with him, just understanding what’s around you in those situations. But ultimately we go into every game asking him to protect the ball and protect himself.”
The hits taken and production as a scrambler have been part of the reason Van Pelt has not utilized the designed run game for Maye through his first three games. But with the quarterbacks skillset, it’s not something the coordinator is ruling out in key moments.
“I’ve been in systems where you have quarterback runs and they’ve led to injury, season-ending injury, so I know the value of that position,” Van Pelt said. “In high-leverage situations, 4th-and-1, game on the line, maybe, but he’s going to make enough plays outside the pocket in a normal drop-back game or play-action game where he scrambles.
“Again, ultimately, it’s that balance of protecting your quarterback. I have to protect him as well as he has to protect himself.”