Quarterbacks: Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito, Behren Morton (rookie)
The excitement level for Patriots QB Drake Maye entering his third NFL season can be felt throughout Gillette Stadium as training camp begins this summer.
After finishing second in MVP voting, Maye established himself as one of the league's best quarterbacks in his second season. The 23-year-old led the NFL in total QBR, expected points added, completion percentage over expectation, raw completion rate, yards per pass attempt, and passer rating. Now, Maye goes into this season with the same offensive system and play-caller for the first time in his pro or collegiate career, with Josh McDaniels returning as Patriots offensive coordinator.
During the spring, the focus for Maye seemed to be on using the scheme continuity to master his craft before the snap, whether that is making pre-snap adjustments or calling the plays himself at the line of scrimmage. The Patriots coaches occasionally sent Maye out without a play call during minicamp and OTA practices, giving him the reins to train him to win before the snap. Assuming his grasp of the offense has improved in year two, that should also help the Patriots play at a faster tempo this season.
Last season, the Patriots averaged 28.6 seconds per play, 28th in the NFL. New England was also last in the league in no-huddle usage. Along with being better equipped to anticipate potential issues being presented by the defense, Maye's mastery of McDaniels's system could allow him and the offense to play faster.
Although he was terrific in the regular season, Maye's EPA per drop-back went from a league-best +0.31 to -0.27 in the postseason, where he faced a gauntlet of the NFL's best defenses (Chargers, Texans, Broncos, Seahawks). The next step for Maye is performing at his best against elite defenses. With the help of an improved supporting cast, the hope is that Maye grows from the experience of his first playoff run and is even better in key moments this season.
More specifically, there were a few coverages that gave Maye some trouble that defenses will likely try to use against him moving forward. Mainly, the two coverages the Pats QB was the least efficient against last season were cover six (-0.31 EPA/play) and cover zero (-0.18). Cover six is a split-safety coverage that combines quarters to one side and cover two on the other. Cover zero is usually an all-blitz without a deep safety. For Maye and McDaniels, having better answers to those two coverages is a must heading into the 2026 season.
As for who will back up Maye in the Patriots quarterback room, fourth-year pro Tommy DeVito is the odds-on favorite to be Maye's primary backup. During spring practices, DeVito took the lion's share of the reps with the second-team offense, with sixth-rounder Behren Morton's 11 pass attempts in the team's final spring practice being the only reps the rookie got in minicamp.
DeVito threw the ball well during the spring with some impressive completions, such as a deep touchdown to WR Kayshon Boutte and throwing WR Kyle Williams open in the back of the end zone. Given his starting experience with the Giants and year in the Pats system, the 27-year-old DeVito appears to be QB2. That said, most teams now carry three quarterbacks due to the emergency quarterback rule on game day and Morton showed well enough in the spring to continue working with him.
The Patriots head into training camp with high hopes that Drake Maye will make another run at being the NFL's Most Valuable Player while leading New England on a deep playoff run once again.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
