The Drake Maye-A.J. Brown connection is starting to click

On his first passing play of full-field 11-on-11 work, Drake Maye hit A.J. Brown on a deep ball up the sideline after Brown beat Christian Gonzalez with a double move, shaking the coverage before getting behind the defense.

It was the connection everyone gathered on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium had been waiting to see.

Through the first few training camp practices, the Maye-Brown chemistry was clearly still developing. Maye was inefficient when targeting his new WR1, with the two often appearing out of sync, particularly on deep throws.

Friday’s completion marked their first deep connection of camp and another sign that the chemistry is beginning to click.

Since the pads came on Thursday, the quarterback-receiver duo has looked much more like what the Patriots envisioned when they sent a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to acquire the Pro Bowl receiver.

“I feel the connectivity building now,” Maye said following Friday’s session. “I think that is the biggest thing with a player like him and a lot of players that we have. It is my job to try to get him the ball when they want and when they, when I feel like they are open, and that is what he’s trying to build a relationship with me and him. I think you’re just seeing it get better every day, and I think that is the best thing about training camp is what you use it for. I am blessed to play with a player like him and looking forward to giving him the rock and seeing him do his thing.”

Maye and Brown connected on all four of their targets Friday during a practice that featured both red-zone and full-field work. That came after they completed four of five targets Thursday, which focused primarily on red-zone drills. Their only incompletion over the two days came on a fade route with Christian Gonzalez in coverage, the first attempt on Thursday.

“Just giving more chances to him. I think you see with the ball in his hands what he can do, so just finding more chances, intermediate, short, deep, just not shying away from it –I am not going to shy away from him. That is how I play,” said Maye. “I am going to keep going at it, and it could be the fifth play in a row I am going to give him the rock. So, I think just finding a way to balance that with a player like him and also, you got Romeo (Doubs) and Pop (DeMario Douglas) and Hunter (Henry) – you got guys— Rhamondre (Stevenson), TreVeyon (Henderson), you got guys that can stress the defense. So, knowing the right play to make, first off, but also finding some time in training camp to give him some chances that maybe in a game I may be like, “Hey, I may pass on that.”

The two have spent plenty of time talking between plays and periods, continuing to build their chemistry by discussing what each is seeing on the field.

“Just trying to get a feel for what he is seeing, what I am seeing, what he is feeling out there when he is running routes in coverage,” said Maye. “We got some great competition. Him and Gonzo (Christian Gonzalez) are going back and forth and going at it. So, it is great for us to talk and pull up some old things that he has run and how he liked to run them and what he liked to do, and the routes for his different looks.”

There is still a long way to go in training camp, so it would be premature to draw too many conclusions. Maye and Brown have had limited time together, and Brown said earlier this week he is only about 90% comfortable in the offense.

But the last two practices have offered a glimpse of what the Patriots envisioned when they paired the two together.