Drake Maye shines in Week 3 of Patriots OTAs

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had his sharpest day of the offseason Monday, at least compared to the two other practices open to media attendance.

Maye displayed good timing and chemistry during competitive team drills with returning receivers Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas, as well as a nice connection with rookie Kyle Williams. But the best catch of the day was a welcome back to running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who caught a deep ball on his first target after missing time on bereavement leave.

“It was a man-alert. I knew I had to win it, and my guy, Drake, threw it up to me,” Stevenson said. “It was the first ball of this whole OTAs so I’m glad I caught it, honestly.”

The second-year quarterback had a bumpy start to OTAs (Organized Team Activities) with press in attendance last month. He threw four interceptions in one competitive period in the first practice in front of media. Despite reports that he had a great end to that week, his timing and accuracy looked erratic in the next open practice. But he was cool and in command of his offense through all team periods to start this week.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels praised Maye’s work ethic and ability to learn from mistakes.

“He’s doing really well,” he said, before practice. “He’s really smart, works really hard. I think the quarterback room in general is really, really good at putting the time and effort in at this time of the year. We either make a good play, or we learn from the result.”

“He’s doing a really good job of digesting the information, processing the corrections when there is a correction to be made, and then, go out there with a great attitude and mindset the next day,” McDaniels added.

The offense, while still a work in progress, looked much more functional than it has in prior weeks – despite a few hiccups. For example, center Garrett Bradbury snap the ball low to Maye in one period that was as close to full-speed as OTAs get. Last week, Maye finished such a drill with a fumbled snap. Monday, he pulled it up and completed an outside throw to Boutte.

There’s only so much that can be gleaned from passing camp in shells and shorts, but the practice should be a confidence-booster that things are moving in the right direction – even if McDaniels was quick to point out how much more fundamental work the offense has ahead of them.

“There’s a lot we still haven’t done for the first time. We’re just getting into third down, we haven’t gotten into the red zone. I mean, there’s so many other situational things we haven’t even touched on, yet. So we’re still in the learning phase of our offense,” he said.

Media also got a few glimpses of Maye working with Stefon Diggs, who made his first appearance at a practice open to reporters. Diggs, who is coming off an ACL tear from last season, was limited – but caught a few passes from Maye in half-speed team drills. It’s worth noting that Diggs moved well and with confidence when he was active on the field.

“He’s working hard, and I think there’s a little bit of carryover of some stuff from down in Buffalo with (Brian) Daboll back in the day. So there’s a little bit of a same-as, little bit of a refresher course,” wide receiver coach Todd Downing said Monday.

Veteran Kendrick Bourne was absent from the practice, which may have opened the door to higher-level opportunities for undrafted rookie receiver Efton Chism III, who went the entire day without a drop during team drills. Chism has emerged as backup quarterback Josh Dobbs’ go-to target, and held his own in chances with Maye.

This week marks the final stretch of voluntary OTAs. Mandatory minicamp kicks off June 9, a week from Monday.