Josh McDaniels, Patriots QB coach setting bar high for Drake Maye in 2025

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant have put a lot on Drake Maye’s plate entering the 2025 season. While they recognize that they’re putting a lot of pressure on the second-year quarterback, though, they also have confidence that Maye will succeed.

McDaniels admitted that he has “high” expectations for Maye this upcoming season, saying that the quarterback has given him plenty of reason to feel that way.

“He’s the quarterback of our football team, and so I’ve always had high expectations for the quarterback room in general,” McDaniels told reporters earlier this week. “I know how hard they work, so I have confidence in his preparation. I know there’s going to be opportunities to improve as we go through every day, every week. It’s my first opportunity to coach a game with him, with a lot of our guys.

“So, I’m sure I’m going to learn a lot. But always go in, my feelings are always based on what I see every day and how hard they work and what they put into it.”

McDaniels has spoken glowingly about Maye since the Patriots re-hired him in January, but he seemed to be especially impressed by the quarterback in recent weeks. During the Patriots’ preseason game against the Vikings in August, he told the team’s broadcast that he felt Maye had turned the corner during joint practices earlier that week.

Three weeks later, McDaniels remains positive that Maye is on the right track, leading up to Sunday’s regular-season opening matchup against the Raiders.

“I couldn’t ask Drake to do more than what he’s doing,” He’s trying to understand exactly what we’re doing, really trying to be as well-versed as he can on what we know from the Raiders, but just looking forward to going out there and watching him play, and seeing our entire group out there together.”

Part of what McDaniels is asking Maye to do is take on more responsibilities pre-snap. However, Maye told Jason McCourty in August that McDaniels has been a good mentor in that regard, saying that his new offensive coordinator “talks to him as much as possible” in the pre-snap communications.

With the guidance Maye’s been given, Grant said that the pre-snap reads and adjustments are the areas he’s seen the quarterback grow at the most entering the start of the regular season.

“My confidence in him has grown since the day we met back in February and it just has continued to grow since we’ve been here,” Grant told reporters earlier this week. “I think he has proven each and every day that he’s capable of that [pre-snap] responsibility. So I’m excited to see what he does come Sunday.

“The confidence in the system No. 1 for sure, and then second, just being able to move up into the pocket,” Grant added. “Trusting his throws and trusting the protection.”

Just like McDaniels, Grant also admitted that the Patriots’ coaching staff has put a lot of pressure on Maye this season, but it’s because they trust him to succeed.

“It’s just the growth,” Grant said on Maye’s maturity as an NFL player. “When you come in on your first year, there’s a million things being thrown at you and then when you move and progress to your second year, then there’s certain things that we can focus on because the weight of moving to the NFL isn’t as big as it once was.”

Maye gave some reason for hope last season. He completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,276 yards for 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with an 88.1 passer rating. He also added 421 rushing yards on 7.8 yards per carry (second among all quarterbacks) and two rushing touchdowns.

However, the Patriots only won one game that Maye started and finished in 2024, with some of his mistakes costing them games. It’s evident he needs to clean up around the edges in order for the Patriots to succeed in 2025, and he knows that.

“I feel like at times, last year, when I got the ball out on time and I got the ball to the right guy, we moved the ball well,” Maye told reporters on Wednesday. “So, I think just trying to start off this season with that mindset and like I said, stay ahead of the chains, do my part, finding completions and not holding the ball.”