Quarterbacks: Drake Maye, Joshua Dobbs, Ben Wooldridge
The Patriots head into training camp without any major questions about the hierarchy inside their quarterback room this season.
New England cleared the decks for second-year QB Drake Maye by trading 2024 sixth-rounder Joe Milton to the Cowboys earlier this offseason and signing veteran Joshua Dobbs to serve as an experienced backup to Maye in his second season. With their talented young starter and Dobbs at the top of the depth chart, the Patriots don't have a quarterback competition this summer with the arrow pointed sky-high for Maye.
As a rookie, Maye ranked 17th out of 32 qualified quarterbacks in ESPN's QBR metric (58.6 QBR). The former third-overall pick flashed dynamic playmaking ability both as a pocket passer and improviser, posting a big-time throw on 3.7% of his drop-backs (16th) while ranking fifth in expected points added on scrambles in just 13 games (+32.2). Statistically, Maye's first season was promising. He also passed the eye test, especially given the rebuilding foundation around him. That said, there are areas that Maye can look to improve in 2025. Mainly, he had the sixth-highest turnover-worthy play rate with 15 total turnovers in his rookie season.
Maye has the raw talent to be a franchise quarterback. The only question that remains is whether he can take the next step in his development with help from an improved coaching staff and roster. Along with first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is returning for his third stint with the club, while the Pats signed star WR Stefon Diggs, drafted LT Will Campbell fourth overall, and selected skill players in RB TreVeyon Henderson and WR Kyle Williams on day two of last April's draft to build up the offense.
Starting with McDaniels, the veteran OC's experience as a play-caller and offensive architect is a welcomed addition as a primary voice in Maye's development. From this perspective, the drop-back passing game will mostly look familiar, but scheme adaptations to highlight Maye's mobility will also be present. For example, we could see West Coast elements such as outside zone-bootleg sequencing from under center mixed in with McDaniels's typical brand of gap runs and gap play-action plays off those downhill runs. The Patriots quarterback's ability to throw off bootlegs makes sense, given how smooth he is on the move.
McDaniels could also incorporate more designed quarterback runs. Last season, 45 of Maye's 54 rush attempts were via scrambles rather than as part of the play design. Although the Patriots will likely want to be selective with how often they run Maye, it could be very effective in high-leverage situations such as short-yardage or goal-line plays, where Maye's skill as a runner can stress the defense, making for easier conversions either by the Pats QB running it himself or just using Maye as a decoy to keep the defense honest.
In 2020, McDaniels installed a diverse quarterback run package for former Patriots QB Cam Newton. Maye is a different kind of athlete compared to Newton, who was a 6-5, 250-pound battering ram who was at his best running downhill. McDaniels called designed runs for Newton on 117 rush attempts, which seems way too high of a number for Maye. Still, Newton's lone season with the Patriots shows that McDaniels is capable of incorporating read-options and quarterback runs into the offense.
There's great potential with the Maye-McDaniels pairing, and Maye showed rapid improvement with an improved comfort level within the scheme as the spring progressed. That said, one area worth monitoring is how Maye handles having the pre-snap controls at the line of scrimmage. In his system, McDaniels puts the quarterback in charge of making pre-snap protection calls and setting the MIKE points. During his rookie season, Maye's center was responsible for those things. Some other nuances will be different, such as play-call verbiage, but if the spring was any indication, Maye is picking them up quickly.
With the Patriots starter and backup quarterback set, the team signed undrafted rookie QB Ben Wooldridge to the 90-man roster to fill out the room. Woolridge was given opportunity reps during the spring and actively participated by taking mental reps while Maye and Dobbs ran the offense. The Pats could carry three signal callers to utilize the emergency third quarterback rule on game day, but Wooldridge will have to earn a spot.
New England enters training camp with Maye and Dobbs locked into their respective roles on the quarterback depth chart. Now, it's all about helping Maye realize his potential.
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
