Drake Maye’s college OC refutes notion Patriots’ new QB is mechanically unsound

New Patriots quarterback Drake Maye clearly has a lot of upside. He wouldn’t have been almost universally ranked as a top-three prospect in this year’s NFL Draft if he didn’t.

Some analysts, including former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, have been critical of Maye, however, mostly pointing to his footwork in the pocket and some mechanics that break down too often.

It’s a characterization that Maye’s offensive coordinator at North Carolina last season, Chip Lindsey, refutes. Lindsey joined Gresh & Fauria on Friday to break down Maye as both a player and person (listen to the full interview above).

“I don't agree with that at all,” Lindsey said of the idea that Maye is mechanically unsound. “I think the guy's very mechanically sound. He is what he is from the standpoint of, he can make plays off platform and move and create things when things break down. In the college game as well as the NFL, you're never going to have or you're very rarely going to have a pure, clean pocket. You're gonna have to be able to move around and some of those things.

“I mean, the guy was 20 years old and, like I said, played two seasons. So obviously there's things he needs to improve on and he understands that as much as anyone, but there's also a lot of clips where he was really clean in the pocket and his feet were set and he made really, really good throws, and he continued to do that as well.

“The best thing he does, though, is moving around and keeping his eyes downfield. He's gonna be really good at that. Those are things that I think are gonna serve him very well. If you look at the guys in the league now that do that, the Mahomes, the Josh Allens of the world and all those guys, they're able to create and keep plays alive. You guys know as well as anyone in that league, you're gonna need that because there's really good players on the other side of the ball.”

Lindsey also spoke highly of Maye’s competitiveness and football IQ, calling him “elite” in both areas.

“All those guys that are picked high, they all have talent. They're all good players,” Lindsey said. “That's pretty self-explanatory. But, I mean, he is an elite competitor. He is an elite football IQ guy. Those things people don't really know yet, and those are the things I think that set him apart. The guy's extremely driven, very hard on himself, wants to be coached.

“…He was really, really a true joy to coach. Just wanted you to coach him every day, wanted to be challenged. Very inquisitive, asking the why of things, not just trying to follow the directions of what you're trying to tell him to do. So, I just think it's gonna be a great fit there. He's a guy definitely if I'm a franchise and investing money, which is really what you're doing, he checks all the boxes, on and off the field.”