On Wednesday, the Patriots hosted the Commanders for their highly anticipated joint practice ahead of preseason game one on Friday night.
Drake Maye and the offense had one of their best days of training camp, showing vast improvements from what we saw on the field in Gillette Stadium during their intrasquad scrimmage just five days prior.
As the second-year quarterback continues his maturation process throughout the 2025 season, he’ll continue to be compared to fellow second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels - the 24-year-old man under center for Washington who took his team to the NFC Championship Game in his rookie season.
With Maye and Daniels on the field for the first time together as pros, albeit in a practice setting, it was only natural that Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the player selected one pick ahead of Maye in the 2024 NFL Draft.
And in classic head coach fashion, he used the question as an opportunity to send a message to his young QB.
“Obviously your defense gets to see Drake Maye on a daily basis in practice, but what kind of maybe different challenge does Jayden Daniels pose?” NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry asked Vrabel before practice.
“We'll have to see what they call and what Kliff [Kingsbury] calls and what they run,” said Vrabel. “But he's talented, makes great decisions, but also very fast.
“And while he scrambles and he can run with the football, [he] rarely takes a big hit - which is very impressive for any player, especially a quarterback. And he's not the biggest guy, but you just don't see him taking too many hits when he runs.”
Note that Vrabel was asked about the challenges Daniels presents for a defense, not, “What are some things Daniels does well on the football field?”
Vrabel saw this question as his opening to talk about Daniels’ ability to avoid taking big hits, something Maye struggled with mightily during his rookie season.
In both Week 8 against the Jets and Week 17 against the Chargers, Maye had to exit the game after taking hits to the head while attempting to extend scrambles down field. The hit against the Jets led to a concussion, which led to Maye missing practice time in the lead-up to their Week 9 game against the Titans.
Maye’s free-flowing style of play is part of what makes him great, but it’s that same reckless abandon that put both him and the New England offense in bad spots throughout his 12 starts in 2024.
He knows that a better balance will be needed from him in year two, acknowledging as much earlier in camp.”
“I was really kind of running around and doing some stuff I probably shouldn't have out there with pads on,” Maye told the media on July 31. “So, I think just taking care of my body and being smart, but also knowing when it's third down, when it's near the end zone - like, I'm 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds. Go get something.”
“Go get something,” indeed. But as Vrabel expressed in a veiled way on Wednesday, proceed with caution.
You might be closer to the same size as Josh Allen than you are to Daniels, but you’re still not quite the hulking presence that is the reigning MVP from Buffalo.
And even as he grows into his frame and looks more like Allen in the years to come, the Daniels comps will always be there.
“You and Jayden - obviously, same draft class, only one pick separates you two guys,” said NBC Sports Boston’s Phill Perry on Wednesday. “You're probably going to be compared for the large part of your careers. How much do you put on yourself to sort of keep pace with him and everything he's doing? He obviously had a great year last year.”
“I think there's always in the back of your mind the draft class you came in with,” said Maye. “And anytime you play him, especially, it's a little different.
“But yeah, like you said, I think – just trying to worry about myself. But at the end of the day, keep up with those guys - him and Caleb [Williams] and Bo [Nix], those guys are good friends of mine, and they're friends until we play each other.”